How He Fell In Love

A well-intentioned yet thoroughly tedious misfire, How He Fell In Love details the unlikely romance that ensues between a hotshot musician (Matt McGorry’s Travis) and a older, married woman named Ellen (Amy Hargreaves). It’s a slim premise that’s employed to increasingly dull effect by director Marc Meyers, as How He Fell In Love contains few elements designed to capture (and sustain) the viewer’s interest – with Meyers’ aggressively subdued approach to the material growing more and more tedious as time slowly progresses. Meyers’ low-key sensibilities ensure that, admittedly, the movie boasts a vibe of palpable authenticity, and there’s little doubt that the documentary-like feel is heightened by naturalistic performances from stars McGorry and Hargreaves. (The latter is especially good here, to be sure.) There’s little doubt, however, that Meyers’ excessively meandering modus operandi slowly but surely tests one’s patience, as the movie, which runs a relatively punishing 107 minutes, suffers from a midsection overflowing with sequences that are either terminally padded-out or downright needless (eg a trip to a burlesque show stands as an especially apt example of the latter). It’s perhaps not surprising to note that the lackadaisical, improv-heavy vibe paves the way for a fairly interminable (and exhausting) second half, and it’s consequently clear that the dramatic revelations of the third act are simply unable to pack the punch that Meyers has intended – thus confirming How He Fell In Love‘s place as an endeavor that’s never quite able to to justify its full-length running time.

* out of ****