You and I (2011) Reviews

• not what i expected

  punkfish9992013-02-13

  The acting between the two lead ladies are brilliant, Barton in particular adapts to the Russian accent flawlessly, had I not been aware previously that she was an American I would have thought she was Russian, and I can honestly say that I've never seen a film like this before. The plot is loose at times, highly unbelievable for one and poorly constructed for two. The script is probably what I am most ashamed of, in places it's dull, not needed and slightly childish. After waiting since 2008 for this to come out I cannot say it was worth it. A delay of 5 years warrants a better end product i'm afraid. Not to mention the DVD I was sent refused to play audio until I spent the good part of an hour tampering with the settings.

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• A mixed review

  jonathanruano2013-03-23

  The trailer proudly announces that "You and I" was directed by "two-time academy award nominee Roland Joffe." Indeed, as unbelievable as this may sound, Roland Joffe used to be a great director back in the 1980s, whose credits include the masterful Killing Fields. Yet over the past twenty-five years, Joffe has directed one bad film after the other and "You and I" is just the latest in the litany of his travesties. To be sure, the beginning of "You and I" did intrigue me. Two wild young women, Lana (Mischa Barton) and Janie (Shantel VanSanten), embark upon an endless night on the town (which lasts for days) amidst Moscow's high society and underground criminal world. They take a devil may care attitude to their colourful surroundings and, as one may expect, Janie in particular gets mixed up with the wrong kind of people and becomes thoroughly immersed in the dangerous world of illicit substances. Only love - in this case a lesbian relationship - can save Lana and Janie from their own self-destructive urges. Unfortunately, the lesbian relationship is neither believable nor is it explored. Mischa Barton and Shantel VanSanten do share a lesbian sex scene in the middle of this picture which takes place largely beneath the bed covers. But this scene remains a loose end, since neither girl acknowledges that they had sex with each other nor there is anything in their body language to suggest that they are physically attracted to each other -- to say nothing about being in love. Mischa Barton's performance illustrates the challenges of speaking Russian (with a Russian accent) and creating a character simultaneously. Although she is a British actress, Barton speaks Russian very well and her Russian accent is quite convincing. Unfortunately, she has not been able to create a character who could hold our interest. Shantel VanSanten, who kept her American accent, has also failed to do anything fresh with her own character. But the film's biggest problem is that the relationship between the two girls is neither plausible or interesting. If neither girl finds the other attractive, why should we care about whether their love triumphs over adversity? In fact, even if you approach this film as a guilty pleasure where the love story is obviously absurd but you are moved by it anyway (as is so often the case with romance novels), even on that level "You and I" fails. Roland Joffe and the producers must have recognized the serious flaws in their own film, because towards the end "You and I" introduces the TATU girls, Lena Katina and Yulia Volkova, who are charming and charismatic enough to blow the two previous women, VanSanten and Barton, right out of the water. But there is no logical reason for the TATU girls to be inveigled into the plot, which suggests to me that they were introduced at the end of "You and I" so that the film-makers could salvage something out of the wreckage. Instead of using them to hedge his bets, Roland Joffe perhaps should have made Lena Katina and Yulia Volkova the stars of his own picture.

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• You & I is an extraordinary story about two girls.

  clarissa67212011-02-04

  They are both different, one wants to be a model (Lana), the other - party girl and lives with no worries (Janie). Very dynamic plot, not call you aside for a moment. Director and the actors are very well able to convey the atmosphere prevailing in their world. Both actresses have played the role perfectly. Mischa Barton in the role of a Russian girl looks good. And Shantel VanSanten who everyone probably knows now from THE CW'S One Tree Hill in the role of an American who has lived in Moscow for nearly a year does not look worse who is damn good in the role. I am telling you right now Shantel is going to be a huge star in the future, she is a really really good actress. She steals the movie for me, very good portrayal of this character. Here, each character is her character, her experience ... I liked the combination of the glamorous life and the simple life somewhere in the outback. Very impressive scenes look at the club, and on the other hand shows the backwoods of Russia. The film shows the life of the big city (parties, sex, drugs, money problems, death, people with disabilities, transportation, poverty, wealth, love, hate, good and evil). The love/sex scenes between the girls, Janie and Lana, was shot very subtly and beautifully. In general, liked the movie, very good directing and camera work! I hope this gets a good release in America because it deserves it.

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• falls flat despite t.A.T.u. and pretty stars - but a very interesting train-wreck this one is!

  RavenGlamDVDCollector2016-06-12

  A movie strongly flavored by Russian girl pop band t.A.T.u. and with Mischa Barton? I had to get this, though I took the negative reviews (not only those here on IMDb - just check out that link on Wikipedia, 'like a revue at an old age home, only the old people would be more fun' - you have a way with words, fella, but you don't know what you're saying) to heart and expected to be let down. It's surely not as bad as my colleague Mr. One-Star John Death here posted. That said, I would give it serious black marks for failing to live up to better expectations from any movie that stars two beautiful girls, and basks in the music of a hot girl group. Make no mistake, this is not great. But Mischa fans will not be disappointed, and there is some vibrant club scenes with great pulsating music. The language is bit of problem, :) quickly gets into the way. Better to let Russians speak their own language, aided, for us, by subtitles. Right there when the movie began I actually thought "hoo s*** I got the Russian copy" but what relief when some English appeared. No, of course the movie is in English, but you're going to have to rely on those subtitles for some of the English bits in lots of places. I felt a warm glow towards the end of the movie as the dreams of the losing party was being realized. If only that warm glow could have been with me from the start, because sure as Siberia this movie has some low points. But to give it only one star, as my strict disgruntled friend here did, no, that's coming down way too hard on it. Wholeheartedly recommended for t.A.T.u. fans. Yes, the duo actually appears in person, with a live concert performance. They sound like a slice of heaven. Do I need to say more than that? As for Mischa Barton, a surprising performance. Surely she must have been weighed down by the impediment of that faked Russian accent. She fares so well that anybody who hadn't ever seen her before, would certainly believe that she is Russki peasant girl come to city. So, to all her many (jealous, deeply envious) critics... take that! Mischa most definitely wasn't into that girly circular revolving bed romp. Wonder what went through that pretty head? For this I gave up THE O.C.? For this I elected to have Marissa Cooper killed off? (Okay, just a personal thought, but I'd wager a lot that I'm right)

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• Breakaway Film Review

  BreakawayDaily2012-03-07

  Been waiting for this movie for a while. Ever since I heard they were making a movie revolving around the popular Russian act T.A.T.U. I have always really enjoyed their music so I was stoked to see the movie. The movie was really good, I was really impressed by all the actual Russian dialogue and the actors (especially Misha Barton) did amazing at speaking the language and speaking with an accent. For the T.A.T.U fans, it is great that the girls actually appear in the film, too bad it wasn't longer. The plot was different too. It is not just a "lesbian" film, which was what I was expecting but a story of overcoming the tough road you have been dealt and making your way in the world. Both girls were living a difficult life. One rich but addicted to drugs, the other, poor with no future. Through music and finding each other they eventually ended up living a dream. Breakaway Film http://breakawayradio.ca/film

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