[Guest Author : DeepSeas]
I can’t think Straight was a much awaited movie – not the least because of its sexy trailers of the romantic scenes between Lisa Ray and Sheetal Sheth. It is based on the novel by the same name by Shamim Sarif, who has also directed the film. It is, in essence, a cute lesbian romantic story between the protagonists Tala (who comes from a rich Jordanian family) and Leyla (of Indian Muslim origin, settled in UK), neither of whom has considered any kind of Lesbian-orientation very seriously – not even properly acknowledged it to their own selves.
The movie opens with the story of Tala – a chronic engagement-breaker (she has called of 3 engagements already). The story starts with her 4th (and hopefully last) engagement. She meets Leyla through Ali –whom Leyla is currently dating. Tala comes across as an outspoken, rebellious girl with a mind of her own while Leyla is shy, introspective girl who dreams of becoming a writer. The romance unfolds slowly, with neither of them being ready to label their relationship as anything more than friendship at first. Finally one scene between Leyla and her sister, where she confronts Leyla about her friendship with Tala, brings out Leyla’s confused emotions. Matters come to a point-of-no-return when Tala and Leyla are on a holiday together and finally acknowledge their real feelings. From thereon starts the drama – as both are under pressure from their families to get married and must make a choice between family and social norms & true love and inner calling. Although, Tala seems to be the more headstrong of the two, it is Leyla who comes out to her parents first, while Tala is fearful of upsetting her parents by breaking off her engagement. At this point they break-off, only to (predictably) get back together in the end.
It is a good watch as a light breezy romantic tale however one feels some of issues, which could have been given more in-depth treatment, have been glossed over. For eg. – both the protagonists coming out to their parents scenes. The onewhere Tala comes out to her parents, is behind closed doors –even the audience is not privy to it. You would perhaps expect more turbulence in a Muslim family after such blasphemous revelations, that too by a woman. Also the attempts to provide comic relief in the form of Tala’s family’s spitting in the coffee made for the mother are rather unnecessary and very Bollywoodish. On the plus side it is watchable for its two beautiful lead actors who do their best to infuse life and vivaciousness in the plot with their performances. Sheetal Sheth in particular is a few notches higher in the acting department. The chemistry between them is good and the lovemaking scene (though not intensely passionate as ‘Bound’ or Desert Hearts] is gentle, flirty and sweet.
Nonetheless it has its own charm and do watch it once if only to not miss out on a Lesbian flick and to enjoy the lighter moments with lots of eye candy.
Yea, really nice romantic comedy with sprinkle touch of Indianism was what really make it more interesting for me. And my favourite track from the movie is- ‘I am Done’ and also, ‘Little Feeling’.
Sheetal is really great in the movie. My (chotu sa) heart broke when I found she is married to a guy 😉
yes it is the sort of movie you may want to see when you dont want to deal with heavy stuff. And Sheetal is gorgeous in the movie, but more so in “The World Unseen” as the fiery Amina.
Yea, that movie got few awards too. Sheetal’s performance is really outstanding in it. Specially in the scene where she is trying to convince Mariam how they would be able to live together with the kids.
This has taken its spot among my favorite romantic comedies of all time. The soundtrack was up-tempo, fun and playful. The colors, costumes and set design where expertly integrated.
This time Shamim Sarif uses humor effectively to shed light on the cultural taboo of being in a same sex relationship. She re-casts Lisa Ray as the confident, bold and seductive Tala, working on her own business, opposite Sheetal Sheth as Leila, the shy, beautiful and insightful writer, and object of Tala’s affections.
Together they explore this very forbidden, but inevitable love, and find their way to each other, with each other’s help. But on the way, they are aided by friends in very humorous situations, and hindered by family members, still loyal to reserved tradition. The soundtrack is virtually its own character, as it includes catchy and sexy songs ranging from ethnic to ballad, which compliment Tala and Leila’s journey perfectly.
The cultural taboo of being in this relationship is a relatable conundrum that many same sex couples have faced, and despite this film’s focus on Jordanian and Indian cultures, the overarching theme of being threatened, disowned and shunned by family is universal and sadly, very relevant. All of the characters are funny and charming, and the dialogue is hilarious and smart, but never preachy. I found it particularly interesting how the fathers.
Again, Shamim Sarif achieves the kind of crossover appeal, that allows the universal themes of unstoppable love to trump the sometimes “hot button” issues of gender, political and sexual orientation components. Both leads and the entire supporting cast envelop us with hope, laughter and inspiration. This is another wonderful achievement in bringing another one of her books to life on the screen. We love this movie, and have viewed it several times-each time picking up another funny line of dialogue and rooting for the characters all over again.
Regardless of your sexual orientation, or interest in the film delivers genuine chemistry, and a poignant message of hope, equality, inspiration and entertainment. A special thank you to the director & writer for using her incredible talent to portray courageous, memorable and complex characters and real stories with universal themes!
Even books are as good as the movies.
Shamim, the writer and director, and Henan, the producer, are both partners and have kid in London. I was so thrilled by the promos of both the movies, I ended up wasting no time in ordering the books from Amazon.
In one of the preface, Shamim has so beautifully expressed her gratitude towards her partner with phrase like, “Last on the page but first on the mind…” really touches one’s gay-heart.
Just came to know today, Lisa has Multiple Myeloma which is incurable 🙁
[…] I love these two women to death but their chemistry went full bloom only with their next release I Can’t Think Straight. As for side actors, well they were strictly ‘okayish’. The only one I couldn’t stand was the […]