On Meet Cute (The Movie)

This will be a palate cleanser after a few philosophy-heavy posts :)

(SN: It probably goes without saying, but spoilers below.)

First of all, if you haven’t seen this 2022 movie, what you need to know about it is that it’s a dark romantic comedy with elements of time travel, but those elements are secondary to the story (just a means to an end), which has more to do with the emotional struggles of the heroine. So, don’t go into it for sci-fi or romance, but rather expect to observe how a person increasingly complicates her life by not addressing the underlying issues — so that even when she gains the power of time travel, her life doesn’t get better for it. It does end on a hopeful note, which is what I’d like to chat about today — specifically, the strength in that hope and the hope in that strength. But admittedly, this chat will not make much sense if you haven’t seen the movie — so, go watch it and then come back, okay? In my opinion, the final bit of the movie leaves a lasting enough impression so that, if nothing else, I believe the movie should be watched for that alone.

Alright, I’ll assume you’re now back after watching the movie (and since you came back, you probably didn’t hate me for the recommendation?).

So, that ending, am I right? The one that is somehow both the apogee and the nadir of the movie. You know, that part when Sheila’s increasingly hopeless perceptions and suicidal ideations culminate in her determination to quite literally take the step off the ledge (I did warn you about spoilers, didn’t I?). Or specifically, the part during that scene where Gary promises to Sheila that he’s seen the future and she is in it. A little reckless of him, but understandable given the degree of desperation. Obviously, Sheila doesn’t believe him. But it is what he does next that makes this movie stay with you for far longer than it otherwise would have any right to. And no, what he does is by no means a template to follow in such circumstances, but boy did it make me sob (and I was watching this movie during my cross-continental flight surrounded by people watching comedies, which I mistakenly thought this was going to be as well). He goes for a (surprisingly) desperate step: he repeats with his utmost confidence that he’ll see her later, turns around, and starts walking away, leaving Sheila on the bridge that she wants to jump off of.

As he walks away, we can see that he’s terrified but he also knows that if he turns around, he’ll betray and undermine that whole displayed portrayal of his confidence in Sheila’s tomorrow. It’s an incredibly powerful scene, from the way it’s filmed - it’s just a very long shot of Gary walking and struggling to not turn around — to the way the actor (Pete Davidson) embodies Gary’s simultaneous terror and hope. And we, the audience, are left hanging with him till the very end. Belief without pressure. Hope through fear. He doesn’t try to control her. He lets her choose and trusts her to make the “right” choice. It’s an indirect nod to the story of Hades and Persephone, and to be honest, I wasn’t expecting such a beautifully played nuance when I decided to watch the movie — I literally thought it was going to be a silly time kill with little aftertaste, and I rather liked being proven wrong.

What also astonishes me is that the movie very easily could’ve lost its touch with reality and turned that scene into something tasteless that felt like taunting (i.e. “Oh, I know you won’t do it!”), but it managed to avoid such a hard-to-avoid trap and that deserves its own applause. It wasn’t a display of Gary’s conviction that Sheila wasn’t capable of killing herself — it was a demonstration of his belief and hope that she would still choose to live. It’s probably obvious by now that Sheila’s sentiments resonated quite a bit with me - not to the extent where I have actively attempted something like that but to the extent I’ve desired and felt drawn to it. (SN: Quick tangent, but did you know that the desire to unexist, to never having been born, without active contemplation of ending one’s life, is considered suicidal ideation?)

I often struggle to describe what I mean by strength, but that’s an incredible example of it. Strength in quiet confidence. Strength exercised to demonstrate a complete belief in another, to help or encourage another to tap into their own (belief or strength) — such as Gary’s not turning back despite the anguish, staying present with his fear and, in doing so, carrying Sheila’s too. Sometimes, we just need someone to show how much they believe in our future without the pressure to create it. It’s such a thin line that’s so easy to cross, and the movie navigates it beautifully. That scene gave me chills and a sense of longing, as I caught myself wishing desperately for someone to exhibit that much strength for me. It has stayed with me for four years already and will probably stay for a longer time still.

And hey, “it’s okay for things to be messy sometimes” (if you know what I mean).