GUY AND MADELINE ON A PARK BENCH

Chazelle's La La Land rehearsal.

50/100

Original Release: 2009

Directed By: Damien Chazelle

Cast: Jason Palmer, Desiree Garcia, Sandha Khin

Favourite Quote:

"I don't know, maybe a day will come when we'll hear all types of music being blasted."

Favourite Shot:

Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench is Damien Chazelle’s debut feature length film. Produced independently, it is a black and white romantic musical also written, shot and co-edited by Chazelle. It was made on a budget of 60 thousand dollars and it’s only 84 minutes long.

Guy (Jason Palmer), a jazz trumpeter, and Madeline (Desiree Garcia), a graduate student, are the two main protagonists. Guy has just left Madeline for another woman Elena (Sandha Khin). And the rest of the film is spent exploring whether this was the right decision.

Guy and Elena’s relationship doesn’t quite spark. While Madeline attempts to rebuild her life by trying all sorts of different things. She eventually decides to start fresh in New York with another guy. But just before she does Guy attempts to win her back.

But it does make you wonder what the best ‘first film’ looks like. Do you make a contained film that has specifically been written so that you can make the best with what you have (Slacker, Clerks, Eraserhead) and keep your more ambitious projects waiting for when you have the resources? Or do you make a film that you want to make even though you know you won’t have the resources to make it as best as you can?

It’s a simple plot, but the film takes too many unusual turns which makes the film hard to follow. There are tangents with unknown characters and a weird focus on Elena at one point. It seems that if Chazelle just focused on his two main characters the film would be much more impactful.

It ends up feeling like a bunch of scenes thrown together to show off Chazelle’s talents and main interests without any direction. Which is a shame because after reading the straightforward plot of the film on Wikipedia (which I read because I didn't quite understand the film's simple plot) it feels as if the film would work if he kept it simple.

The ending is very emotional and compelling as its own scene. But if the writing had been tighter, with the narrative beats hit more forcefully, then I feel as if it could have been a breathtaking and tremendous conclusion that would have made the film.

The black and white is gorgeous and Chazelle does a great job with his amateur actors. The music is incredible (composed by long term partner Justin Hurwitz). The musical numbers are the best elements of the film.

Like most debut films Guy and Madeline features a lot of early signs of what is to come. It has the focus on music to represent the character’s emotions, thoughts and feelings. It has the theme of wondering whether the decision we’ve made is the right one.

It has documentary-like camera movements. It has jazz. It has brilliantly choreographed musical numbers. And it has a glorious ending where two people stare at each other as music plays.

But it just feels like all these elements are muted in a way. Perhaps it is because I have seen his later work and I know all of these moving parts (with the right tools, time and effort) can be put together better.

But it must be considered that he did not have the tools at his disposal quite like what he has now (La La Land had a budget of 30 million).

But it does make you wonder what the best ‘first film’ looks like. Do you make a contained film that has specifically been written so that you can make the best with what you have (Slacker, Clerks, Eraserhead) and keep your more ambitious projects waiting for when you have the resources?

Or do you make a film that you want to make even though you know you won’t have the resources to make it as best as you can? I think there are weaknesses and strengths with both approaches.

Guy and Madeline is a very interesting film to watch if only to see how much Chazelle has grown and developed as a director, whilst still essentially staying true to the things he was interested in from the start.