For her first stab at writing and directing, the actor Lynn Chen imagines resolutions for characters originally introduced in Dave Boyle’s 2011-2012 movies, “Surrogate Valentine” and “Daylight Savings.” The result is “I Will Make You Mine,” described in the press notes as a “semi-sequel” to Boyle’s films and — at least in look, tone and temperature — not dissimilar to its predecessors.
Coasting on easy-listening tunes and a complete absence of all but the mildest drama, the plot has an amiable innocence and uniform generosity toward its characters (more than one of whom is playing a fictional version of themselves). Everyone is inoffensively nice, especially Goh Nakamura (himself), an ultra-mellow, almost phlegmatic singer-songwriter who strolls back into Los Angeles to attend a funeral. And unwittingly resurrect dormant desires in three women who haven’t quite gotten over his wistful rhymes and crooning guitar chords.
Most vulnerable is Rachel (Lynn Chen), a dissatisfied wife whose wealthy husband (Mike Faiola) was unfaithful and is now making cringe-worthy attempts to reconcile. Then there’s Yea-Ming (Yea-Ming Chen), a frustrated musician inspired by Goh’s arrival to write a new song (about him, naturally). Last, we have his estranged wife, Erika (Ayako Fujitani), torn between her professorial career and the demands of caring for a young daughter (Ayami Riley Tomine).
As Goh reconnects with all three in a series of gently pleasurable hangout scenes, the movie accumulates a rueful nostalgia. Soft black-and-white cinematography (by Bill Otto and Carl Nenzen Loven) and low-key humor help offset the limitations of its partly crowd-funded budget, as does the naturalism of the partly improvised performances. Slight and sometimes a little sleepy, “I Will Make You Mine” is about transitions and crossroads, its characters learning that processing disappointment is as essential as pursuing love.
“I just wonder if my race has already been run,” Goh says near the end, in a line that could have been spoken by any one of the women whose lives he has so unexpectedly disturbed.
I Will Make You Mine
Not rated. Running time: 1 hour 20 minutes. Rent or buy on Amazon, iTunes, Google Play and other streaming platforms and pay TV operators.
Source: Movies - nytimes.com
