You know how there are people who get hooked on a song and then listen to it on repeat over and over again? Well, after an incident in high school where I listened to one album exclusively for pretty much an entire year, I am no longer one of those people. However, I do still do that, only with movies. I can watch the same movie dozens of times. There are several movies that I’ve actually watched every day for a month.
Why am I mentioning this? Because I feel like Tonight You’re Mine is becoming one of those movies.
So let’s start with some basic information about the movie. Tonight You’re Mine, originally titled You Instead, was released in 2011, directed by Dave Mackenzie and stars Natalia Tena (Harry Potter, Game of Thrones) and Luke Treadaway (Clash of the Titans, Unbroken). The two play Morello and Adam, a couple of musicians set to perform at a music festival called T in the Park in Scotland. Adam’s band is an electronic duo called The Make and Morello’s band is an all female rock band called The Dirty Pinks. Due to some silly encounter, the two find themselves handcuffed to each other without the immediate possibility of getting free. The entire story takes place in about 24 hours and all in the music festival atmosphere.
Now, let’s talk about the bad, which in this case is the plot. I’m sure that from the basic plot line above, you already know what will happen. The plot is very basic, very obvious and unoriginal. From the moment they get handcuffed, you know exactly how the movie will, not only end, but also playout. Very much like the five stages of grief, you get denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Another bad point would be, the characters’ personalities. Morello, is a bitch, and not in a good way. She’s just plain mean to everyone, extremely judgmental with no good cause and starts things off really ugly. She’s not a character you find yourself liking right away. Adam is a little less so but still, not that great of a guy either. Other than our two main characters, the supporting cast isn’t all that great either. Adam’s musical partner Tyko is half comedic relief, half unnecessary. Their manager Bobby is there to...be pitied on? I guess? It’s not entirely clear. Then there’s Morello’s bandmates. Mostly there to giggle and have a secret lesbian affair amongst themselves. Again, not entirely sure how that connects to the rest of the story.
So, Shira, if both the plot and the characters are bad, why do you keep watching this movie, and better yet, why should I even bother to watch it once?? You ask. Well, thank you, hypothetical reader, that’s a very good question! And here’s my answer: everything else.
You see, while the plot is old and obvious, and the characters are bitchy, the movie isn’t there to sell you an original story or likeable characters, it’s there to sell you a feeling, an atmosphere. The whole story takes place within the music festival. During concerts and in between. The soundtrack is probably more important and elaborate than the characters and story. The cinematography, showing us the craziness of a music festival in Scotland, full of mud and rain and people just having fun and enjoying life. That’s what the movie tries, and succeeds to convey. Also, just because the characters aren’t likeable at first, doesn’t mean you don’t like them by the end, not to mention that the acting and script are great. One of my favorite scenes is when Morello tries to tell Adam a story and she mixes up some words. The way she does it and the way he reacts to it is so genuine and it made me laugh because, well, I do that ALL THE TIME. So seeing other people failing at English makes me happy (wow that makes me sound like a terrible person. But you understand what I mean, right??).
Movies that can be watched over and over again tend to be simpler. Easier to digest. This is because we don’t need to focus on them as much and can just enjoy the feeling they give. Tonight You’re Mine falls perfectly into that category. The plot is obvious, the characters are simply tools that walk us through the music festival experience, all we have to do is sit and enjoy the ride.
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