Danielle Solzman
Geraldine Viswanathan should become a household name following the release of The Broken Hearts Gallery in theaters and later, home video.
This time last year, actress Geraldine Viswanathan was honored by the Toronto International Film Festival as a TIFF Rising Star. This year, the actress makes appearances in both Bad Education and The Broken Hearts Gallery. One shouldn’t forget previous appearances in Blockers or Hala.
A few things to discuss here. Because of the continuing pandemic, I opted to receive a press screener in lieu of attending an in-person press screening. Again, in-person screenings are a risk and will be for the foreseeable future. Unfortunately, I experienced video lag with the 720p picture and had to downgrade to the less than optimal 216pi, which is very hard on the eyes. In switching to the lesser picture, there was no video lag. My hope is that Sony can invest in some apps that are not just limited to Apple technology and look into a Roku app. This is necessary especially if digital press screeners are going to be the new normal for studio films. Other studios have the technology available so we know it can certainly be done.
Lucy Gulliver (Geraldine Viswanathan) is a hoarder. The young woman, now working at an art gallery, has a collection of items from her previous boyfriends. Where some people throw these items away, Lucy chooses to keep them. Anyway, she’s working at a New York gallery and sleeping with her boss, Max (Utkarsh Ambudkar). Lucy ends up falling apart when they later break up. Lucy’s roommates, Amanda (Molly Gordon) and Nadine (Phillipa Soo), try to get her to change her ways. Newsflash: this does not go well.
Lucy’s collection of items is what’s truly preventing her from being able to move on. How would a potential boyfriend feel when he sees her collection? Lucy ends up meeting Nick (Dacre Montgomery), a hotel owner. As the two get to know each other, Lucy ends up finding the perfect solution to her problems. It comes in an empty lounge in Nick’s hotel and thus, The Broken Hearts Gallery is born. Not surprisingly, they start falling for each other. But will he become part of Lucy’s collection? You’ll just have to watch the film.
I will also say however is that it’s nice to see Geraldine Viswanathan, Molly Gordon, and Utkarsh Ambudkar on the screen again. After watching Brittany Runs A Marathon, I think Utkarsh can and should be leading a film. Or co-lead a film at the very least!
Writer-director Natalie Krinsky draws from her own experiences for her directorial debut. It tends to make for a better film when writers write what they know. Even though this film is a romantic comedy on paper, there’s something more to it. While my own viewing experience was less than pleasant, I can appreciate how Krinsky decides to tackle the film through the experience of pain. It’s one thing to see characters break up on screen–we see this a lot in films even if they always get back together by the end. The thing is, we never really see a film like this. How can one remain positive even after a bad breakup? This is the beauty of The Broken Hearts Gallery.
Selena Gomez executive produces the film and while she isn’t necessarily making a cameo, a ticket stub makes an appearance during the opening credits.
While my viewing was less than pleasant, The Broken Hearts Gallery shows two things: Geraldine Viswanathan should be a household name and Natalie Krinsky is a filmmaker to watch.
DIRECTOR/SCREENWRITER: Natalie Krinsky
CAST: Geraldine Viswanathan, Dacre Montgomery, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Molly Gordon, Phillipa Soo, Arturo Castro, Suki Waterhouse, Sheila McCarthy, Nathan Dales, Ego Nwodim, Megan Ferguson, and Bernadette Peters
