After a modest speech from director James Gardner and writer Simon Lord begins the cast & crew screening of Two Dancers; that is, after a fumbled start where music was accidentally played instead of the feature.
The slip-up is saved with great character, and “…Well, that was The Horrors!” gets a good laugh. With that, the mood is set amongst the intimate crowd.
We first meet one half of the Two Dancers, Sofia (Dienke Rozendom) in a dishevelled London flat, which she occupies in silence. Only the worried, inquisitive (and ignored) phone messages about her general well-being keep her from living in complete isolation. It is quickly established that this is not going to be Glee In The City, and the Disney romance of sing-and-dance pop culture is all together forgotten about.
The ‘tough’ high school days are over, this is the real hardship of a dancer trying to stay afloat in the city, downtrodden by the grind.
At an audition, we see the transformation she undergoes each time she dances. Gone are the bus stop leers and the bothersome messages, and we meet Sofia in her element, fortified by the solitude of her dancing. The snappy direction here is handled beautifully, as we watch the shackles disappear momentarily.
The other half of the ‘Two’ is Carl Barât ideally cast as Daniel; a man not yet ready for the trappings of marriage and IKEA living rooms and instead still yearns for a freer life of music and romance, if not necessarily dancing. A reserved part of him hides what Sofia needs and what he struggles to hold on to.
His nostalgia and her fantasy nurture each other throughout the film, but resolutions are never as easy as their ideals.
The motifs are simple but are choreographed meticulously to marry the seams of two separate worlds. Daniel’s pearly-white suburban home clashes with his personality as equally as Sofia’s dank flat counters hers. The needle of a record player closes the door on the lives they resent, and opens up a space where the two of them can be momentarily happy, before real life interrupts again. In these scenes, we are intruding on the pair’s private common ground, and the tension between them is to the credit of the leads.
The film is also funny when intended, as Sofia reveals some of the obstructions she faces each day,
“..you, me, Southern Electric.”
The film is not intended as comedy, but these small moments of relief were received suitably.
The short run time is utilised with fine precision, and the minimalistic cast prove to be strong additions to director James’ vision. Here’s hoping he gets the deserved audience he has set out to reach.
To learn more about ‘Two Dancers’ the film and cast visit:http://www.twodancersfilm.com/News
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