In Search of a Midnight Kiss

Finally getting distribution after its UK premiere at the 2007 Edinburgh Film Festival, US Indie flick In Search of a Midnight Kiss is the third feature from writer/director Alex Holdridge. Shot on a tiny budget in just over three weeks, it’s the not-so-typical tale of a boy (McNairy) meeting a girl (Simmonds) in Los Angeles on New Year’s Eve, both desperate to fall in love, but not necessarily with each other. As the two become acquainted while careering around downtown LA, events conspire to make their first date anything but forgettable. Although it’s easy to engage with the leads and the small supporting cast, it’s LA itself, shot in crisp black-and-white throughout, that often threatens to steal the show. A thoroughly modern romance for the noughties, resonating with anyone who’s been in, or wants to be in, a relationship, Midnight Kiss is a film for misanthropes everywhere. [Jonathan Melville]