FILM REVIEW: "Ali & Ava", and the aesthetic limits of realism
Ali & Ava, a romantic drama set in the British city of Bradford, written and directed by Clio Barnard, is beautifully photographed and well-acted. Its main flaw though, is that it’s pretty boring.
Barnard, fanatically committing to a bleak social realist aesthetic, crafts a simple narrative of two lonely souls who manage to make a connection despite their different backgrounds. Ali (Adeel Akhtar) is a cheerful Pakistani, an ex-dj with a penchant for cracking jokes. Ava (Claire Rushbrook) is an Irish woman weighed down by her past but has a warm heart.
Great. What a pair they should make, eh?! While individually, Akhtar and Rusbrook are capably filling out their characters, their romance ultimately fails to lighten up the dreary atmosphere, and instead becomes just another feature of it.
This is frustrating because on paper, the story is not this heavy; there are scenes of them enjoying each other’s company, bonding over music. Ali, in particular, adds a bit of comic relief with some genuinely funny lines. Ava’s ability to love again despite an abusive ex-husband and a nightmare of a son is poignant. What’s odd is that there’s not much longing in their relationship, nor much heat; just a couple of people who could really use a friend, taking the most tentative of steps toward courtship for 3 quarters of the run time.
It speaks to a larger problem, that Barnard's primary priority is convincing us of her ability to render realism, instead of allowing us to be swept away in the loveliness and possibility of a romance. Look, romance is lovely, even if you are middle-aged and living in a miserable town. Ole Birkland’s cinematography works perfectly in tandem with Barnard’s direction, using mainly natural lighting; but, I’m sorry, watching something drenched almost solely in hues of blue and gray just makes me feel sad and bored.
It’s doubtless that Barnard is a skilled enough filmmaker to observe the contours of a tentative courtship, Bradford’s rough textures. I’m observing all of this too, at a great distance. Yet the conventional whimsical story beats of a rom-com are also present in spite of the bleak aesthetic, which somehow makes those plot points ring even more false and hollow than usual. Also, a certain plot thread containing a seemingly insurmountable problem totally fizzles out by the end, leaving me more puzzled than satisfied.
Clio Barnard’s voice is clear and strong but antithetical to the idea of romance. It’s getting terrific reviews, however, with many claiming they found it poignant and charming. Let’s just say I missed the boat on this one. But Perth filmgoers can decide for themselves at the British Film Festival, which screens from 3 Nov – 1 Dec.
