2022 Entry #026 02-08-22 “Cicada” is a 2020 American romantic drama film directed by Matthew Fifer and Kieran Mulcare. Fifer co-wrote the film with Sheldon D. Brown, both of whom starred in leading roles. A New York love story that toes the line between narrative and doc with two actors reliving parts of their own experiences. The film follows the relationship between Ben (Fifer) & Sam (Brown). Both have troubled pasts which complicate their possible romantic future together.
I loved most of this. The leads are great. The direction is assured with some fun flourishes. The New York setting is beautiful as always. The only quibble I had was with Cobie Smulders as a quirky therapist whose methods just felt a bit over the top, while nearly everything else in the film felt very grounded. Now, she does have a fantastic moment in the film, so she’s not completely without value, but every other time we came back to that character, the film lost its focus and started feeling a little too unbelievable. Thankfully, that’s a relatively minor flaw in what is, overall, a very good movie.