Title: Arthur Newman

Director: Dante Ariola

Starring: Emily Blunt, Colin Firthm Anne Heche, Philip Troy Linger, Sterling Beaumon, Kristin Lehman, David Andrews, Peter Jurasik.

What a cliche to call a man ‘Newman’ to epitomise his urge to start anew. And this is just the first of many commonplaces that you may find in Dante Ariola’s flick.

‘Arthur Newman’ is the new identity Wallace Avery (Colin Firth) buys after staging his own death. His ex-wife and son hate him, he hates his job and he blew his one shot at living his dream to become a professional golfer. Not wanting to face all of this, Wallace becomes Arthur Newman. But his road trip towards a new life is interrupted in Terre Haute, Indiana, by the arrival of the beautiful but fragile Mike (Emily Blunt), who is also trying to leave her past behind. Drawn to one another, these two damaged souls begin to connect as they break into empty homes and take on the identities of the absent owners (Kim Ki-duk should ask for royalties, since this part of the story is identical to ‘3-Iron’). Through this process they both realise that what they love most about each other are the identities they left at home, and their real journey, that of healing, begins.

The acclaimed director of commercials Dante Ariola, debuts with his first feature film. He undoubtably has a knack for marketing and picks the right cast. But the two A-class British actors, Colin Firth and Emily Blunt, are plunged into an indie-wannabe movie with a banal moral that spoon feeds the audience both in content and in representation. Characters are portrayed beyond stereotypes. Was it unavoidable for Mike to have torn tights, smudged make-up, chipped nail varnish, for spectators to figure out she’s a disturbed and tormented dark lady? As for Wallace/Arthur’s crisis the expectation builds up, but his affliction never finds the proper vent. The cognisance of his coveted need implodes. And how can Avery’s son, ex-wife and current partner have such an algid reaction in coping with his disappearance?

The expression of sentimental commotion is held back, for the fear of a melodramatic wind up. But this way the movie’s emotional potential is truncated. The characters’ wounds are taken for granted from the very start, but they never bleed, denying us any kind of gut reaction and empathy.

Technical: B

Acting: B

Story: F

Overall: C-

Written by: Chiara Spagnoli Gabardi