And While We Were Here (2013) - Romance

Rating: 6/10

Summary: Jane (Kate Bosworth) goes to Italy with her viola playing husband while he prepares to perform in an orchestra. While there she meets Caleb (Jamie Blackley) a young, spirited, carefree boy who opens Jane's eyes and mind, and helps her realize she is not living her life to the fullest.

And While We Were Here is a beautiful film, with the perfect setting for a romance such as this. It was a cheese ball romance film that made me feel like I gained twenty pounds because it was so sweet (sugar joke [insert laugh track here]), which was exactly the problem for me. I have never been a fan of

overly romantic films because they often make me cringe, I suppose if you like that sort of thing this movie is perfect for you (maybe you can watch this instead of The Notebook on valentines day). The magic and romanticism of Italy was expressed accurately in the most modest way, as the film did not go the stereotypical route when it came to locations. The cinematography also helped encompass the beauty of Italy and did not overdo the ooey-gooey romantic side of the country.

I was especially impressed with Jamie Blackley's performance. Jamie was heartbreakingly youthful, and crushingly naive and childish, he perfectly captured the essence of what it is like to be young, dumb, and in love, his line, "You make me feel calm," is a perfect example of his purity when it comes to emotional experience. He was innocent yet seductive, and lively, for the most part he shined thebrightest in this film. He played the role of Caleb with such ease and grace it was as if he was simply playing himself in the film.

As for Kate Bosworth, her performance was less than pleasant (I'm also not a fan of her), but I suppose she did quite well seeing as she was playing a completely unlikeable character. Jane was self-absorbed, manipulative, and confused the entirety of the film. she manipulated both her husband and Caleb in

order to find meaning in her life, bringing young Caleb down with her in the end. The most impressive part of Kate's performance was her ability to completely explode with emotion towards the end of the film. She displayed a great flurry of screams and fiery eyes that you could feel with watching the confrontation scene she has with her husband. Other that one scene she displayed almost no other emotion besides a monotonous excuse for neutral to match her love life I suppose.

The film was no awful but I was not impressed, or completely sold on Kate's performance. Jamie Blackley did incredibly and if it wasn't for him this film would not have bee entertaining what-so-ever. Perhaps, with another female lead it would have been much better. Overall, I say watch this film if you enjoy lovey dove gooey films and Jamie Blackley and his perfect eyebrows.

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