When Wallace (Daniel Radlcliffe) meets Chantry (Zoe Kazan) at a party, he feels an instant connection with her. The chemistry is there, and they seem to be intellectually compatible. The conflict? Chantry already has a boyfriend (Rafe Spall).
Written by Elan Mastai and directed by Michael Dowse, What If delivers an intelligent screenplay; hilariously witty, bittersweet, and heartbreaking. The film emotionally connects us to the characters, making us fall in love with Wallace and Chantry the moment they first met. We witness and get involved with how their love and friendship blossom, feeling the undercurrent of pain, melancholy, tension, and confusion crackling in the air.
The only disturbing and tasteless elements in this film are the couple of slightly racist jokes against Asians, but they are compensated by the deliciously sharp and engaging bantering that are oftentimes brimming with truths, which feel like shards of glass in your heart (never was a comparison between nachos and a moldy banana been this painfully hilarious!).
Also, heartfelt and natural performances by the entire cast—especially Radcliffe and Kazan, who will make you forget Harry Potter and Ruby Sparks. Adam Driver, who plays Wallace’s roommate and love adviser, is simply a riot.
What If accurately portrays what genuine love and friendship between a boy and a girl feel like, along with the many complications that go with them. What If is exactly how a romantic comedy should work: make you cry, laugh hard, and fall in love.
The only disturbing and tasteless elements in this film are the couple of slightly racist jokes against Asians, but they are compensated by the deliciously sharp and engaging bantering that are oftentimes brimming with truths, which feel like shards of glass in your heart (never was a comparison between nachos and a moldy banana been this painfully hilarious!).
Also, heartfelt and natural performances by the entire cast—especially Radcliffe and Kazan, who will make you forget Harry Potter and Ruby Sparks. Adam Driver, who plays Wallace’s roommate and love adviser, is simply a riot.
What If accurately portrays what genuine love and friendship between a boy and a girl feel like, along with the many complications that go with them. What If is exactly how a romantic comedy should work: make you cry, laugh hard, and fall in love.
4 out of 5 stars
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