Have we been a little testy, perhaps impatient with the genre of preciousness and twee?
Probably. Sometimes the idea of Sufjan Stevens blaring in a room with “Little Miss Sunshine” playing on a loop and the FOX SEARCHLIGHT banner flashing at you repeatedly is enough to make you want to induce instant suicide. Kidding! (sort of)
However one film that we’re actually looking forward to believe it or not (hey, it can’t be as obnoxious as “Napoleon Dynamite,” amIrite?) is the Charlyne Yi and Michael Cera film, “Paper Heart.”
Part documentary, part fictional feature directed by Nicholas Jasenovec, the film follows Yi on her whimsical quest to document her skepticism on the concept of love. The film seems to transition between the documentary and a fictionalized love story between her and Cera (who’s also her real life boyfriend) that interplays with her journey (here’s the poster and recent trailer).
The good news in the music department, coming from Jasenovec himself, is that Charlyne and Michael — both accomplished musicians — are doing the score (Cera has a silly joke band with “Clark And Michael” actor Clark Duke called, The Long Goodbye, Yi and comedian Paul Rust are in the band, The Glass Beef).
Also helping out are Alden Penner (ex member of Montreal indie-rockers the Unicorns and Clues) and Zach Condon from Beirut. Alden produced the score and contributed two original songs, while Condon wrote one original song for the film.
Not bad, right? Hopefully that’s the first wave of positive music details from the film. More are sure to follow, but that’s definitely a good sign. The Unicorns were great, but burned a little too brightly and then fanned out on their own after an auspicious start. Condon might collaborate with Cary Fukunaga (director of the recently released indie drama “Sin Nombre”) on an upcoming musical with Arcade Fire-related member, Final Fantasy.
“Paper Heart” hits theaters in limited release via Overture pictures on August 7.