FINALLY, LILLIAN AND DAN

Directed By: Mike Gibisser

Review By: Kim Jindra

I give director Mike Gibisser credit for attempting to make an old fashioned love story with his debut feature, FINALLY, LILLIAN AND DAN.   Unfortunately the film moves so slowly that it loses some of its charm.

At first, I thought the pacing was a plot device to enhance the shyness of the two lead characters but I realized that every single scene could have been shortened and in some cases halved.  Gibisser could have even added some scenes to give us more back story or reason to want these characters to come together.   But I really liked Lillian and Dan.   I do admit I had trouble buying that Lillian hadn't been snatched up years before.  No amount of clothing could cover her face and smile.  Dan was a bit of a klutz but his ineptness was endearing.   Both characters were played with great sensitivity and longing.  

I loved the idea that Lillian felt so isolated she planned her own block party to meet people.  And I thought the kite scene was fresh.  I did sense a bit of editing confusion between the time Dan brings the apple and pear to Lillian and when he walks her home after their date.  She says something like "this is me" and he says, "this is nice" as if he had never been there before even though he had brought fruit and apologized in a previous scene. 

I thought Lillian's grandmother could have been a bit less passive.  The scene where she is reading the circulars goes nowhere and again is too long.   I would have liked more scenes like the dance she and Lillian shared.

I liked this film, but with a better editing job, I could have really embraced it.