FilmSnobReviews

Title: Permission
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Director: Brian Crano
Starring: Rebecca Hall, Dan Stevens, Gina Gershon
Runtime: 1 hr 36 mins

What It Is: Anna (Hall) and Will (Stevens) have been together forever. They were each other first love and now they’re going to be each other’s last love as Will intends to purpose.  When a friend makes a comment about their lack of variety in sexual diets Will pulls back from that plan and they start to think that perhaps there’s something to what he said. They begin to test out seeing other people…while still being in a relationship. Needless to say, this isn’t an ideal situation that Dane (François Arnaud) or Lydia (Gina Gershon) is about to be put through, even if they don’t realize it. 

What We Think: At its core, the narrative is utterly preposterous. The idea of the story as a whole just comes off as two selfish idiots making a dumb mistake. Stevens and Hall have a really good chemistry and they feel like a legit couple. They’re adorable indeed. What lets them down here is the story. The supporting characters are pretty good but they can’t get over their issues enough to realize what they’ve done to a perfectly good couple.

Our Grade: B-, Not a bad romcom but it isn’t really all that funny. Its story and script let down the performances. Despite that Rebecca Hall is charming as all get out. I can completely recommend this to everyone who, like myself, is a fan of the romantic comedy genre. How you react to the characters is how much you’ll enjoy the film. There is for sure room for improvement. Crano himself has places he can go as a director, only having one other feature directing credit A Bag of Hammers also starring Rebecca Hall.