While You Were Sleeping (1995)
review © 2024 by P. Douglas Reeder
For a drama, I'll allow one unlikely thing to set up or fully launch the plot. For a kishōtenketsu plot, I'll allow an unlikely twist, if needed to make it work. For a comedy, I'll allow more, if they're well used. While You Were Sleeping must set some kind of record for the number of contrived coincidences and unlikely decisions to keep the plot on track. But they are well used, and I didn't mind.
One difference I could ask for, is obscuring who the hero is until later in the story. Within fifteen seconds of him coming on-screen, it's apparent from all the indicators used — they did everything except have him sparkle — and it didn't need to be. I'm sure most fans of romances don't care, but I do.
It would also have been nice if the fiancee wasn't disposable, that is, an unlikable character quickly shuffled off camera.
The decoy hero makes an unlikely break from his past. I'll allow that under the circumstances, he might well have honestly intended to. My fanon says the change doesn't last.
- Previous: The Italian Job (1969)
