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The number one thing a man in a romcom needs, TV or movie, is the ability to look at their love interest REALLY WELL. The man barely even needs to speak if he just knows how LOOK at a person.
Thank you all for filling this thread with so many examples, that is EXACTLY what I wanted to happen.
This was a big part of why Hart of Dixie worked as well as it did.
I LOVE how important a tenth of a second can be to a romcom. Also, I could sit here dissecting the romcom form ALL DAY. https://twitter.com/bookoisseur/status/979022914988265473
Jeffrey Dean Morgan is almost TOO powerful at this, it threw me for a LOOP in Supernatural where he played a truly terrible father but I still wanted him to kiss someone https://twitter.com/biscouti/status/979024152064651264
And Pacey Witter is clearly the GOAT https://twitter.com/AlannaBennett/status/979014076637634561
I have developed so many disastrous crushes JUST because someone looked at me good once
The second Ben looked at Leslie at that Freddy Spaghetti concert I knew it was endgame
Oh for sure, it's the type of thing that would literally never sustain an IRL relationship but that in a TV show will have you rooting for forever https://twitter.com/LauraCGurf/status/979028154206572546
It is the bedrock of Matthew Goode's career. https://twitter.com/miranfahal_/status/979026242673496065
Oh yes, every time Eliot looks at Quentin and vice versa the earth shakes a lil bit. Just a pleasant lil rumble. https://twitter.com/hoperehak/status/979029027628421121?s=21
See, I don’t think it translates exactly. It CAN, but it’s not as steadfast a principle when it comes to women in romcoms. Probably bc it’s one of the rare genres where women consistently have more to DO, more to SAY, more to EXPRESS. https://twitter.com/balovric/status/979028801698127873?s=21
It’s kind of powerful when men in romcoms don’t have to take up a lot of space to get the point across. We don’t need them to talk as much.
(Should be noted this is not an entirely ironed out theory. It’s still ~developing~)
(Should be noted this is not an entirely ironed out theory. It’s still ~developing~)
Which is NOT to say they’re divorced from the action, far from it, ESP in stories where women are falling for women. Imagine Me and You’d entire plot TURNS on a look.
Kill me
Sir!
This also fueled some key and iconic moments in Moonlight, and @BarryJenkins framed The Look so goddamn well
I’ll stop soon*, but Game of Thrones gave us practically ONLY the look to try to sell audiences on Dany/Jon. They even talked about how much they stare at each other.
*thats a full lie, I’ll never stop
*thats a full lie, I’ll never stop
Call Me By Your Name is also 90% The Look
The look is STRONG in To All the Boys I've Loved Before https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/alannabennett/netflix-recs-to-all-the-boys-ive-loved-before-romcom
Honestly where the fuck did Anne With an E find this teen boy who’s already mastered the art of the look to a truly intimidating degree
I genuinely do not mean to drag this thread out, but something's on TV rn that's reminding me: A key part of the look is EDITING
my first
to any bubbling-up love interest usually comes from a Look² — the CAMERA's gaze hyper-focusing on a CHARACTER's look.
my first
to any bubbling-up love interest usually comes from a Look² — the CAMERA's gaze hyper-focusing on a CHARACTER's look.
A Look² is really easy to spot: Just look for any moment where the camera's cutting to a character in moments where it doesn't SEEM narratively necessary to see that person's face. They're doing that for a R E A S O N
I'M SORRY, I HAD TO USE MY LIBERAL ARTS "CINEMA STUDIES" DEGREE SOMEHOW
This whole thread is also why it stresses me out to watch things with people who are spending lots of time not looking AT the screen, because so much of my enjoyment of the narrative comes from the seemingly-throwaway visual cues
Adding Rio’s ~looks~ from Good Girls to this because W H E W chillay are they overwhelming
GOD
Sorry to add to this AGAIN but it's striking me on rewatch just HOW much Notting Hill lives on the way Julia looks at Hugh. Not even the way he looks at her, because the TOPIC is the way the world looks at her. But the ROMANCE is the charm in her eyes looking at HIM.
