There has yet to be a truly generation-defining film for the Millenials. No Heart Feelings, co-scripted and co-directed by Sarah Lazarovic, Geoff Morrison and Ryan J. Noth, attempts to fill this vital niche in the film market by offering the post-Generation Y — tech-savvy young men and women who use social networking and consume Youtube videos — a potential voice in pop culture.
“One thing that comes across that’s indicative of this generation of 20-somethings now is how we communicate with one another,” says Morrison on the phone from Toronto. “Whether it’s through the net or different technologies, e-mail or social networking, when it comes down to face-to-face communication we have a hard time saying what we’re trying to say.”
The film is all about Melanie (Rebecca Kohler), a young 20-something who finds herself in the depths of despair after breaking up with her long distance boyfriend (voiced by Jonathan Goldstein). Melanie video chats with him over Skype but finds it depressing, an incredibly realistic situation for people engaging in these kinds of brutal long distance teases.
Eventually she breaks up with him, with the dawning summer sun teasing misadventures. Unfortunately she finds herself trapped in a small fugue from the break up. Eventually she meets a new potential beau in Lewis, with the film spiraling into their slow-building courtship.
“As much as it’s about this girl and her friend, it’s about a generation at a specific time and place,” says Morrison. “So many filmmakers have tried to portray an honest portrayal of the world they live in . . . It’s kind of about contemplating adulthood and navigating relationships and dealing with jobs. We tried to create as authentic and relatable a story as possible.”
The film takes much from the low-budget mumblecore aesthetic, including its largely improvised dialogue and its focus on the budding romance between Melanie and Lewis. The filmmakers make special use of handheld cameras, producing an intimacy found in glossier works.
In this way, the film attempts to show people at their most basic level, allowing each character’s quarter-life crises and neuroses to become much more impacting for the audience.
“We set out to make a film that was [as] honest as possible and something you could really relate to,” adds Morrison. “You could very easily describe this film as a romantic comedy, but that doesn’t really do it justice. Sort of the aesthetic we use and the degree we are going for — as a romantic comedy, this isn’t The Proposal with Sandra Bullock. The situations in this film are actually things people could relate to.”