SHE CAME TO ME (2023) – A romantic comedy without the romance and the comedy
Rating: ⭐⭐
Game of Thrones’ Peter Dinklage is great in any role that he plays in even though a number of the film projects that he has been in were less than stellar (Cyrano, I Care a Lot). Here is plays an opera music composer who is suffering from a mental block and struggling to find inspiration for his next musical. He is married to his former therapist (played by the stunningly beautiful Anne Hathaway) in a relationship that seem to have lost its romance and passion. One day, he meets Katrina (Marisa Tomei), a tug-boat captain who is fiercely independent and suffers from “romance addiction.” His one-night stand with her provided him with the inspiration he needed, only for the incident to come back to haunt him and his family.
The film’s cast is simply great but alas, they were not given enough material to make their roles shine. While Dinklage, Hathaway, and Marisa are all extremely talented, their performances in this film were underwhelming. I just didn’t feel any chemistry between Dinklage and Anne Hathaway, so I couldn’t buy into their relationship. Marisa Tomei, on the other hand, had more fun with her meatier abate smaller role, and she at least had the film’s best moment with Dinklage in their screen romp. She Came To Me comes across as a pleasant and unobtrusive piece of entertainment in the style of a romantic comedy, except there isn’t much romance or comedy in the mix. The whole thing just flows at a constant level of energy, and there aren’t any instances where it rises above the mundane enough to make you sit up and pay attention to the screen.
Director Rebecca Miller appears to be confused and undecided about the film’s aspect ratio. The film alternates between a boxy 4:3 aspect ratio and a standard 16:9 aspect ratio for no apparent reasons. While this may give the film an arty-farty feel, I found it distracting and ultimately frustrating because I have no idea why they were done. It is a shame that despite its strong cast, the overall film was a disappointment and felt like a missed opportunity for something far better. I still give it two stars, primarily because of the actors without which I would have been far less generous. In a way, the film’s unimaginative and highly forgettable title is a subtle indication of the film’s calibre.