He’s an underachiever, lugging around his collection of short stories (titled, with oh-so-profound laziness, Things People Do To Each Other) on a road trip reading tour, progressing through the southern States from university cafe to cosy book nook in a beat up old car. His companion on this adventure is his brother, Sean (Kel O’Neill), who, fittingly, is his exact opposite. He’s brash, crude, wildly charismatic and, integrally, a hit with the ladies. Such is Easier With Practice‘s setup. In situation, themes and characters, it is nothing new, but it comes with a distinct mystery, that of the caller’s identity. She identifies herself as Nicole, but refuses to give Davy her number, and predictably dodges his petitions for them to meet. It is this question that gives the film its structure: just who is she? It’s unfortunate, because the weight that this question mark gains as the film trundles along overwhelms its more tender moments, since, aside from the kooky central hook, writer-director Kyle Patrick Alvarez litters the picture with relatively well observed moments of minutiae, from Davy’s unfocused ambition and young adult stagnation, to the odd couple relationship with Sean. However, one person’s unimposing, charming dramedy is another’s snoozefest, and Easier With Practice, coming hot on the heels of a wave of such films (such as this year’s Somewhere and Greenberg), dallies a little closely to the latter, with its experiments in soft focus coming off as a little doe-eyed, and its incessant use of the patented ‘indie rock montage’ (featuring recent soundtrack regulars Grizzly Bear) substituting narrative development for stylish, superficial elision. One major problem, however, is its protagonist. Geraghty does well with the anxious gait and mumbly monotone that we’ve seen scores of times before, and is superb when flustered in the 10 minute long take, where he receives Nicole’s first call, but Davy comes dreadfully close to the kind of loser we don’t want to sympathise with. He is a character almost entirely stripped of agency, coasting through his own film, defined more by inactivity than anything else. He is drawn along by the disembodied voice, and falls for a fantasy represented by the cover of a cheap pulp romance novel. Easier With Practice attempts to pull the curtain back on Nicole, while retaining some emotional maturity. In reality, it’s a twisted reveal, with the implied shock of the revelation ringing out over the quiet moments that fill out its final scenes. It’s an eggs in one basket situation, and the viewer hopes for a resolution, or minor bit of resonance, that never truly comes. Instead, the film is simply a number of Things That Some People Did To Each Other. Follow Den Of Geek on Twitter right here.
