There's nothing quite remarkable about Gus Van Sant's love story involving a girl (Mia Wasikowska) who meets a boy (Henry Hopper) during his funeral gatecrashing rounds, except of course to allow these two young actors a platform to show they too can find a place in a romantic film, with Wasikowska bursting onto the scene thanks to Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, and Hopper riding on his famous last name being the son of the late Dennis Hopper.
Opening this year's Cannes Film Festival Un Certain Regard sidebar, Restless seemed to have exactly that effect on anyone expecting some grand romance between the two teenagers, only for that expectation to come crashing down with a distinct lack of uniqueness in its story, opting to go with the tried and the tested, with a disease forcing its way to destroy what could be something permanently beautiful. Cliches abound, Restless tried really hard to find its own special edge to stand out from its peers in the same genre, and I don't think adding in a ghostly character, a Japanese one for that exotic flavour (played by Ryo Kase) was the right answer.
You can read my review of Restless at movieXclusive.com by clicking on the logo below.
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