Romance (2007)

Romance is an offbeat drama about Julie Walker, a 29 year-old women, trying to re-engage with life and the possibility of love, after leaving an abusive relationship. We follow Julie over the course of one evening, as she attempts to navigate her way through an awkward first date in a crowded pub. Her date is Russell, a man she has met on the Internet. As Julie and Russell slowly get to know each other, we see flashbacks of Julie's previous relationship - key moments of violence and pain that act as counterpoints to the date. These flashes from the past help contextualize her behavior - and inform us of her changing emotional state as she tries to relax and enjoy being in someone's company. Romance is ultimately about the hope, the fragility and the darkness in modern human relationships. It is also about the baggage that we all carry as we attempt to move from moment to moment throughout our own lives.