WHAT IF IT WORKS?

Australian screenwriters seem to have a systemic problem of writing things the way they think they should be rather than taking the time to actually figure out how they actually are. The results are melodramatic and overly complicated, shoved into a narrative that doesn’t properly allow for such complexities. When I found out that first-time feature writer/director Romi Trower had actually loosely based this on real life experiences, I thought that finally this would be the exception to the rule.

Unfortunately, it didn’t turn out this way. Trower has a brother with severe OCD and both her mother and aunt work in the field of mental health. But that’s just it - basing such complicated mental issues on her second- and third-hand information, these characters are burdened by her perspective and not reality. As an artist and storyteller, Trower needed play to her strengths and strip the characters down to what makes them unique in this situation - which is their relationship to each other, how they form, and how they grow. Instead, she’s manifested backstories that don’t fit and a gaggle of secondary characters that are superfluous and add nothing to the story except to serve as a needless distraction. This film is about relationships, and yet the focus seems to be on their illnesses.

The heroes of ‘What If It Works?’ are Ford and Samson. They turn in beautiful and heartwarming performances and deserve most of the credit. This film is sweet, occasionally funny, and has been an audience favourite as it makes the rounds on the festival circuit. Let’s hope it continues that run of good fortune as it hits the mainstream.