[star rating=”4″] CATCHING FEELINGS. Written and directed by Kagiso Lediga, with Kagiso Lediga, Pearl Thusi,
Andrew Buckland, Akin Omotoso, Loyiso Gola, Kate Liquorish and Tessa Jubber. On Netflix
MEGAN FURNISS reviews
I am ashamed that I did not see this local movie on the big screen and that I waited to see it on Netflix. It deserved my support and my ticket money. Still, I am lucky it went to Netflix and I spent a surprisingly delicious few hours on my couch watching and loving Catching Feelings.
The plot; a writer with writer’s block, Max (Kagiso Lediga) who lectures at WITS and whose marriage is in a transitional phase, gets caught up in some of his own medicine when he parties too hard with another, more famous and hedonistic writer, Heiner (Andrew Buckland) from out of town, who then ends up at his house with his wife Sam (Pearl Thusi) while Max has to go to Cape Town for work.
It isn’t the most original or earth shatteringly inventive new narrative, but how it is done is what sets it apart.
Kagiso has tight reins on the style of Catching Feelings, from both a screenplay and directorial point of view. The scenes are long and loose, with lovely dialogue and an improvised, naturalistic feel to them, especially the group scenes. His, Thuli’s and Akin Omotoso’s performances are stand out ones in capturing that ease and flow with the dialogue and characters. Andrew Buckland is delightful and larger than life as Heiner and the smaller cameos, like those played by Kate Liquorish, Tessa Jubber and Loyiso Goya are delicious.
There are some truly funny moments; my two favourites being the traffic cop scene and the wall scaling one, but I don’t want to spoil them. Mostly, the movie isn’t a traditional laugh out loud, punch line joke every scene kind of comedy, but more character and situation driven, which is by far my favourite kind.
But the star of the show for me was Joburg. I loved seeing Joburg in all its glory, from campus to Braamies, to Melville, to Parkhurst, to Soweto. Day and night, Joburg was a backdrop, scene partner and feature of the movie and it played with so beautifully.
Strangely subtle
While this movie is deeply rooted in its location, time and political and social geography, none of it (except for the pretentious old fashioned erotic animation at the very beginning) is ham-fisted or sledgehammer in its content, delivery or outcome. For a comedy it is strangely subtle.
Catching Feelings breaks new ground in that it is a comedy that has come of age from a South African point of view. It is more mature, less obvious, more generous and forgiving, more self-aware but less defensive than other less successful South African comedies. Kagiso Lediga and his cast and crew have done that. And it works.
What: Catching Feelings
Where: Netflix
WS
