Ruby Sparks
Pro: I love when a movie can take its one-trick gimmick and use it to say something real.
Cons: Slow start
So many films from these leads—Paul Dano and Zoe Kazan—could make a list of underrated movies of their own. Paul Dano is often typecast as the odd and shy loner. He is often overshadowed and too easily forgotten by surrounding powerhouse performances, see There Will Be Blood where he held his own opposite Daniel Day-Lewis. Kazan’s characters are often written off as manic pixy dream girls in indie, but if you watch they are much more honest and relatable. These leads and real-life partners wrote the script for this highly underrated film, Ruby Sparks.
Calvin (Dano) is a novelist struggling to recapture the success of his first book and connect with someone in real life. A character for a new project—a beautiful woman named Ruby Sparks—takes hold of his mind. He even feels like he is falling in love with this figment of his imagination. Strange things begin to occur like women’s clothing appearing in his home. When he finally sits down and writes an extensive passage before bed, Ruby (Kazan) materializes in the flesh as a girlfriend with the backstory and characteristics he imagined. He then discovers that she is real but malleable to his written word. If he types something about her, it becomes her.
It is a simple and fun premise on the surface that feels…done. The idealized partner comes to life, like Purple Rose of Cairo. More specifically, a lonely writer writes his perfect girl into existence was a plot of an old Twilight Zone. But Ruby Sparks keeps it fresh and unique by taking the concept seriously.
Early on, the story plays with the silly and easy avenues. Calvin is initially skeptical and dumbfounded. He tests the waters by making her speak French. She gets him to be more outgoing. And so on. But the film quickly shifts to a more somber tone. Calvin’s control of Ruby is not played for laughs. Instead, it is a reason to analyze his faults, unhappiness, and insecurities. You realize that this is no longer a romantic comedy but a disturbing commentary on love and relationships.
The odd origin fades from mind. The relationship plays through the stages of an ordinary, common, albeit unhealthy dating relationship. There is the honeymoon phase with the sparks flying. The rush fades, and they have to deal with each other. The only twist is that any real progress is halted because Calvin can cheat and manipulate Ruby into being more agreeable, more social, less social, needing him more, needing him less, and so on. Calvin’s need for Ruby to fill his empty view of himself is exploited. Every time Ruby starts to show herself to be more than the simple ideas Calvin has for her—a fairy manic pixie perfection—he breaks her down.
The film has a strong commentary about unhealthy habits in relationships, the misleading reasons people get into relationships, and how hard partners can work to change each other. The difference between loving a person and loving the idea of the person.
SPOILER FOR ENDING
What I enjoyed most about the movie was the subtle meta-awareness. It is a movie about expectations in relationships, ideas we hold of people, and the frustrations we have when those ideals are not realized. The writing is executed in such a way that the film plays with our expectations on multiple levels. It messes with expectations for a romantic comedy, indie film, the “manic pixie dream girl stereotype,” and even the actor’s typical strengths. Both actors get to break from the typecasting I described before, which they play into earlier in the film. The simple and weird gimmick of the story is warped into something real: A shy writer writes a manic pixie dream girl into existence…becomes…a frustrated, unfulfilled man manipulates a joyful, strong, but lonely woman until she is completely broken.
The series of fights and changes culminate in a disturbing scene of Calvin typing in front of Ruby, to show her that he is in control. Ruby is powerless and terrified as Calvin makes her switch languages, bark, strip, sing, and shout “I love you. I’ll never leave you. You’re a genius.” Until the typewriter jams and Ruby is freed to run to her room. Calvin is ashamed and writes her freedom. But although he makes some amends and changes that present a second chance, in the end, it is unclear if he has learned his lesson enough to do better next time. And I loved the vague ending. It wasn’t simple. He felt better but may not have become a better person and potential boyfriend. Which pushes the audience to reflect on what it takes to learn from experience in relationships, friendships, and connections of any kind.
