An Oversimplification of Her Beauty (2013) Media MVMT-Variance Films/Comedy-Drama RT: 84 minutes No MPAA Rating (nude representations, sexual material) Director: Terence Nance Screenplay: Terence Nance Music: Flying Lotus Cinematography: Matthew Bray and Shawn Peters Release date: June 7, 2013 (Philadelphia, PA) Cast: Terence Nance, Namik Minter, Alisa Becher, Jc Cain, Dexter Jones, Talibah Lateefah Newman, Chanelle Pearson.
Rating: *
I’ve been reading a lot of glowing reviews of An Oversimplification of Her Beauty by prominent film critics and find myself asking if we saw the same movie. They’ve been heaping quite a bit of praise on a film that, frankly, I find too pretentious and narcissistic to be enjoyed on any level.
Let me first say that I’m all for young filmmakers having their work seen by audiences outside of festivals. I also support, wholeheartedly, the work of young African-American filmmakers like Terence Nance. How long has it been since a young black filmmaker of note arrived on the indie scene? That is, one who breaks with the normal conventions of contemporary filmmaking in terms of form, style and content? I’m talking somebody on same level as Spike Lee who made a striking debut with the low-budget feature She’s Gotta Have It in 1986. I can’t say whether or not Nance will find the same level of success as Lee, but he definitely shows a small hint of promise in his debut feature.
Personally, I didn’t like Oversimplification at all. For me, the whole thing is a pretentious bore. I just could not get into the story about a young hipster’s unrequited love for his attractive lady friend. A cancelled rendezvous leads him to question the true nature of their relationship and feelings for each other. In fact, this guy overanalyzes this thing to the point where we get sick of listening to him. It’s a very personal and introspective work and while I can appreciate that, it doesn’t mean that I have to like it. I’m just going to come out and say it, I hated this movie. Hated it with a passion! This guy irritated me almost as much as Greta Gerwig’s character in Frances Ha. Maybe we should get the two of them together? Can you imagine how that movie would play out?
As far as I’m concerned, Oversimplification isn’t really about anything in terms of plot. It’s really more a single idea expanded to feature length, the idea being this guy obsessing over a cancelled date. It breaks down like this. This young black man comes home after a long hectic day of working, looking forward to spending the evening with a female friend (Minter) for whom he harbors romantic feelings. He’s in such a hurry to have everything perfect for her that he doesn’t notice right away that he missed a call from her. When he calls her back, she tells him that she will not be coming over to see him. Why? She says that she just got home from work herself. Presumably, she’s too tired. That’s not he sees it. He starts going over it again and again in his mind. He wonders if that’s the real reason she bailed on him at the last minute. He starts examining his past relationships and the reasons they didn’t work out. In short, he makes it all about himself. She sees some fault in him that makes her not want to pursue a relationship with him. He analyzes the evolution of their relationship, from when they first met to the minute she cancelled out on him. By way of voiceover narration, he keeps asking the audience “How would you feel?” to the point where it gets tiresome and irritating. The guy obsesses on this girl and the possible truths behind her cancelling out on him. Here’s the deal, dude. She’s just not that into you! Get over it! Dating sucks! It always has, it always will. Freaking deal with it, would you?! These are the things that I wanted to scream at this guy. I would have too if not for the sake of professionalism and courtesy to my fellow filmgoers.
Now I’m sure to get lambasted for my negative review of Oversimplification by those who like it. They’re going to say that I didn’t “get it”. Not true. I get it. I get that Nance hits on something that all guys do when a woman breaks a date. When it happens, we tend to overanalyze it. If she says it’s because she has to work late or that she’s not feeling well or she’s simply too tired, we believe her at first. But then the doubts start to seep in. Is this really why she bailed out on me? Is she hiding something? Does she want to break up? Is there somebody else?
Looking at Oversimplification from a male perspective, he nails it. He gets inside the typical male mind and does so perfectly. He falters in his presentation. This movie is an extension of a short film (“How Would U Feel?”) that he made a few years ago. He incorporates new scenes and animated sequences that elaborate on the themes of the original short piece. He has a unique vision, but it comes off as so pretentious that it’s impossible to admire it. Oversimplification looks like the work of an arrogant film student who doesn’t care if others understand it.
As a writer-director, Nance comes off as something of a show-off with the movie’s diverse styles and the dialogue peppered with a lot of four-dollar words. As an actor, he doesn’t impress me at all. His character is annoying neurotic and clueless. Doesn’t he see that the object of his obsession is really a fickle type incapable of loving anybody other than herself?
In my opinion, Oversimplification is nothing more than an ode to narcissism. But I suppose that’s really the point, isn’t it? When it comes to relationships, don’t we all tend to make it about ourselves? How do I feel about the other person? Is it working out for me? Am I satisfied with it? We’re all emotionally selfish to some degree; it’s part of human nature. That still doesn’t mean that I have to like it. I don’t and I stand by that opinion. I do appreciate what he was going for, but not enough to recommend his movie.
