Paper Heart (2009)
Paper Heart (USA) Directed by Nicholas Jasenovic Starring Charlene Yi; Michael Cera; Jake Johnson
Paper Heart plays loose and fancy free with fact and fiction in its quasi-documentary approach. The idea is that actor/musician Yi (the stoned girl from Knocked Up) has never been in love and wonders if she even has the capacity for it. She travels through various parts the country (including Texas; Oklahoma; Nevada; and Tennesse) talking to scientists, professors, wedding chaplains, friends, relatives, and strangers alike about the science, philosophy, and nature of romantic love. Although there are some sweet moments with Yi and actor Michael Cera there are just as many that feel contrived and false. There has been some degree of speculation as to whether the relationship between the two is/was real or not, but there is no doubt that their scenes together (regardless of their actual/real life relationship) are being acted. Further, an actor, Jake Johnson, is playing the actual director Nicholas Jasenovic, the only other major character in the film. While the meta aspect is interesting and holds a lot of potential the film doesn’t provide much in the way of revelation about it leads, or, for that matter, the larger question at hand, as the interview subjects are only mildly interesting. This one’s (paper) heart is in the right place, but is indeed so lightweight that it seems as if it will blow away at any moment. Yi, who has a rather strange, monotone affect, is clearly a guarded person, but delving deeper into her past and her reasons for being so closed off in the first place would have likely made for more compelling viewing. It’s problematic when an individual attempts to make a personal documentary without truly putting themselves out there, which is precisely where the invented (or at least acted) relationship comes in. Unfortunately, this very artifice impedes what might have been a truly interesting and poignant exploration of a real young woman looking at her own fears and doubts about love, and her own future.