Comet

By Christie Robb

The extent to which you will enjoy Comet will probably depend on whether you are the type of person who thinks the Police’s “Every Breath You Take” is a good song to play at a wedding or not.

Romantic or stalkery?

Comet has a similar feel.

Neurotic Dell (Justin Long, who you might remember as the Mac guy from the commercials),relentlessly pursues Kimberly (Emmy Rossum) over a six year period during which he physically runs her down, declares his probable love for her on their first date, waylays her on a train, and shows up on her doorstep before her wedding.

Long and Rossum deliver stellar performances managing to effortlessly handle repartee of nearly Gilmore Girls proportions. Their chemistry is undeniable. However, it may be my inner cynic talking, but I found myself wanting to shake Kimberly by her slender little shoulders and point out all the red flags she seems unable to see.

Comet is a far more intellectual movie romance than is typical. It takes place in a parallel universe, which allows writer/director Sam Esmail to include some beautiful and trippy imagery. He also presents the story out of sequence, skipping around in the timeline of Dell and Kimberly’s relationship from a meeting during a meteor shower, to a snowy day in Paris, to a heart-to-heart on an LA rooftop at dusk (or is it sunrise?). Comet leaves the interpretation of what actually happens to the couple up to your careful scrutiny and interpretation.

Maybe not the movie to see on a first date, it nevertheless provides excellent fodder for discussion and perhaps a follow up movie marathon featuring 500 Days of Summer and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.