Martin Freeman (who I love as an actor) played the part of Charlie, a man with a serious neurological condition that makes him lose consciousness when he's overcome by strong emotions - primarily joy and happiness. So this puts a spanner in his love life. Along comes the beautiful Francesca (played by Morena Baccarin). Charlie falls for her, but pushes her away as he can't see how they could possibly have a future together.
I wish I could have enjoyed this more but, what blew it for me is that Charlie wasn't that nice a person to be honest. Yes, he was living with a condition that dominated his life and completely limited him in so many ways, but he proved to be unkind and cynical at times, manipulating both his brother (who was frankly a bit of an a-hole - at least until the end) and also his 'girlfriend' Bethany - a girl he chose to date as she had the kind of personality that wouldn't stir any overwhelming emotions in him.
I couldn't connect with Charlie at all, especially as the film progressed. Bethany was just portrayed as a bit of a weirdo in the film and treated as a figure of fun. There was no development of her character whatsoever, no insight into her background and why she was the way she was. I felt that there was something quite mean-spirited about Charlie's treatment of her. The film was all about Charlie getting his happy ending at the end of the day and it all felt a bit too shallow to me to be honest. Although I like Martin Freeman's other stuff and I thought Morena Baccarin was lovely in this film, I'm afraid I wouldn't recommend it at all. I just felt very unsatisfied by the end of it.
I wish I could have enjoyed this more but, what blew it for me is that Charlie wasn't that nice a person to be honest. Yes, he was living with a condition that dominated his life and completely limited him in so many ways, but he proved to be unkind and cynical at times, manipulating both his brother (who was frankly a bit of an a-hole - at least until the end) and also his 'girlfriend' Bethany - a girl he chose to date as she had the kind of personality that wouldn't stir any overwhelming emotions in him.
I couldn't connect with Charlie at all, especially as the film progressed. Bethany was just portrayed as a bit of a weirdo in the film and treated as a figure of fun. There was no development of her character whatsoever, no insight into her background and why she was the way she was. I felt that there was something quite mean-spirited about Charlie's treatment of her. The film was all about Charlie getting his happy ending at the end of the day and it all felt a bit too shallow to me to be honest. Although I like Martin Freeman's other stuff and I thought Morena Baccarin was lovely in this film, I'm afraid I wouldn't recommend it at all. I just felt very unsatisfied by the end of it.