“What Happens Later” is a romantic comedy film about a divorced couple who run into each other at an airport when their flights get delayed due to a snowstorm. Director and star Meg Ryan has created an interesting movie where the entire screen time of 104 minutes is taken up with the conversion between her and her ex-husband, played by David Duchovny, where they have all night to go over the details of why their marriage failed. Much of their talk rings true to anyone who has been in a relationship.
At first, the encounter between the two is, quite frankly, boring. After about ten minutes or so it gets interesting and the viewer is hooked for the duration of the film. Ryan did an excellent job of pacing the project, with a good screenplay she co-wrote with Steven Dietz and Kirk Lynn. It was adapted from Dietz’s play of the same name.
This is quite a tour-de-force from Ryan and Duchovny, with the only other vocal is the airport public address announcer played by Hal Liggett. There are some extras scurrying back and forth in the background, and, as the film progresses, they slowing diminish and the airport voice starts talking back to them, giving the film a surrealistic feel.
As one might expect, the indy film “What Happens Later” was not terribly successful at the box office for Ten Acre Films, Prowess Pictures, and Bleeker Street.
What Happens Later (2023)
cinema
My Review
“What Happens Later” is a romantic comedy film about a divorced couple who run into each other at an airport when their flights get delayed due to a snowstorm. Director and star Meg Ryan has created an interesting movie where the entire screen time of 104 minutes is taken up with the conversion between her and her ex-husband, played by David Duchovny, where they have all night to go over the details of why their marriage failed. Much of their talk rings true to anyone who has been in a relationship.
At first, the encounter between the two is, quite frankly, boring. After about ten minutes or so it gets interesting and the viewer is hooked for the duration of the film. Ryan did an excellent job of pacing the project, with a good screenplay she co-wrote with Steven Dietz and Kirk Lynn. It was adapted from Dietz’s play of the same name.
This is quite a tour-de-force from Ryan and Duchovny, with the only other vocal is the airport public address announcer played by Hal Liggett. There are some extras scurrying back and forth in the background, and, as the film progresses, they slowing diminish and the airport voice starts talking back to them, giving the film a surrealistic feel.
As one might expect, the indy film “What Happens Later” was not terribly successful at the box office for Ten Acre Films, Prowess Pictures, and Bleeker Street.