She Came to Me: Soon in theaters

Mohamed Hashem Abdelsalam

The film opened the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival on February 16, 2023. In May 2023, Vertical Entertainment acquired U.S. distribution rights to the film. It is scheduled to be released on October 6, 2023. 

It was previously scheduled to be released on September 29, 2023. 

The Berlinalefestival opened with a screening of the American film “She Came to Me” by American actress, screenwriter, and director Rebecca Miller (1962).

The film opening the 73rd Berlinale did not bring anything new, at all levels, as it is not the first time that the festival has opened, at least in the last 10 years, with an American film, or by a female director. It is also not the first time that the opening film has substandard, mediocre, or forgettable plot, direction, thought, and comedy, which strongly qualifies it for the status of “opening film,” similar to similar major festivals, especially in recent years. Except that “She Came to Me” is not produced by the largest Hollywood studios, or huge famous companies, or broadcasting platforms, or is crowded with first-class male and female stars, whose looks attract public attendance and intense media coverage.

The theme of the talented artist, who suffers from artistic, psychological, emotional and life pressures, and a prevailing crisis in creativity, creativity and inspiration, is often discussed. It was treated cinematically at different levels, until it became expendable.  In her new book, Rebecca Miller tried, as much as she could, to present this theme in a somewhat innovative way, through a mixture, the basic structure of which is romantic, and combines psychological, comedic, social and operatic. Stephen (Peter Dinklage) is a talented operatic composer. He has difficulty writing and creating, and lacks inspiration and confidence. He also suffers from psychological problems and disorders. His wife, Patricia (Anne Hathaway), his former psychiatrist, tries to process all of this with patience, sincerity, and appreciation for him and his talent.

However, Patricia herself, in turn, suffers from psychological and life problems, no less than those suffered by Stephen. The simplest of them relates to the obsession with tidiness, cleanliness and disinfection. Her structure pushes her, gradually, towards religiosity, then resorting to monasticism, in the end, and perhaps retiring from life forever, as a comfortable self-choice that solves the accumulated problems, especially after she discovered Stephen’s romantic sexual adventure, one day, with Katrina (Marisa Tomei). A woman full of madness, vitality, desire, and love of life, the sea, and driving her antique sea tug. An adventure that inspired Stephen's new successful opera, despite his feelings of remorse and pain. Also, his desire to escape and forget what happened, and this he succeeds in doing for some time, before things turn around and go against his will.

One day, Stephen resorts to Katrina to smuggle his son, Julian (Aven Allison), out of New York, where the events take place, so that he will not be imprisoned, according to the law, for having sex with his lover, Teresa (Harlow Jean), 16 years old, after discovering her fanatical father, Trey. (Brian D'Arcy James) The relationship between them, which was not a passing love relationship between two teenagers, developed into other matters, revealed to him by his wife Magdalena (Joanna Keulig), who happened to work as a housemaid for Stephen's family. The solution is to smuggle the two lovers on board Katrina's sea tug, and contract their marriage in another state that allows marriage at this age, accompanied by Stephen, his beloved dog, and Katrina. This inspires him a new story, from which he weaves another successful opera.

Young teenagers may actually be the most knowledgeable about love, the truest and clearest, and the most aware and achieve psychological and life balance, compared to the adults around them, who are floundering in their worlds full of sins, obsessions and psychological and life disorders, and governed by their prior condemnations of others.

In this simple framework, and through multi-generational love stories, with happy endings that satisfy all parties, and a few non-combined characters, Rebecca Miller’s attempt came within a normal framework, and is largely acceptable, given the ease of what she accomplished, its simplicity and honesty, and above all, her choice. A well-acted team, its members are in harmony with each other