Worth: $17.00
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Eliza Taylor, Sana'a Shaik, ‘Ana Ika, Arielle Carver-O’Neill, George Pullar
Intro:
...makes for a mighty fine cinematic dance partner...
Like vampires, undercover cops, fish-out-of-water stories and now, apparently, superhero movies, the romance genre is one of cinema’s truly unstoppable forces. Often derided with largely pejorative terms like “chick flick”, or harmless but reductive ones like “rom-com”, the romance genre is very much, well, critically unloved. Sure, it turns up just as many cinematic frogs as it does Prince Charmings, but let’s give the romance genre its due, huh? If you’re after a little warmth, sweetness, escapism and positivity, the romance genre is where you’ll find it. And if you’re after a good romance, you’ll find it in the very attractive form of the Aussie-shot-and-produced, sneakily England-set It Only Takes A Night.
Freshly and energetically written and directed by Callan Durlik (who penned 2019’s romantic comedy The Naked Wanderer), It Only Takes A Night follows the downward-and-then-upward trajectory of London girl Ruby (Aussie actress Eliza Taylor from The 100), who bounces back (very slowly) from an ugly relationship break-up, and eventually reconnects with her circle of friends – Emma (Sana’a Shaik), Nina (‘Ana Ika) and Sophie (Arielle Carver-O’Neill) – for a night out on the town. Through the night, the girls will experience impromptu dance routines, ex-boyfriends, new acquaintances (Charles Grounds steals his scenes as the flamboyant Sven), and a little romance courtesy of charming Aussie barman Andy (the excellent George Pullar, who was so great in the little seen Moon Rock For Monday).
With its winning raft of charming, natural, funny, engaging and (mostly) well accented performances from its Aussies-playing-Brits cast (the four central actresses are all truly fantastic, boasting abundant appeal and rock-solid comic timing), and a fast-paced, well-characterised, witty and amusing script, It Only Takes A Night makes for a mighty fine cinematic dance partner, though its final number (a cringe-worthy speech delivered from a nightclub stage) could have been finessed just a little better. That said, the highly enjoyable It Only Takes A Night is certainly no service station bunch-of-flowers.
