Guilty pleasures (review II) by Julie Moggan

Every four seconds, a Harlequin novel gets sold somewhere in the world. With this dreadful announcement, the sweet and melancholic documentary by Julie Moggan brings us to the minds and souls of the authors and fans of maybe the biggest editorial success of all time. What does unite an American male model, a Japanese housewife, a grumpy British gentleman and a chubby Indian lady? Pretty much what unites the whole of humanity: the drive towards passion, the wish to escape the mediocrity of everyday life and real relationships. But how can life compete with bites such as: “The flame in Parker’s eyes left no room for doubt of what would have happened to her, if she had followed him…”?

There is no judgement made about the artistic qualities of these novels: on the contrary, their success is the starting point for an interesting anthropological reflection on sexuality and the childish need (especially from the woman’ side) for perfection. Perfection which is destroyed by the director frame by frame, showing the loneliness and rigid discipline that control the real life of the gorgeous male model who is the star of many Harlequin covers and the cynicism of one of the most prolific Harlequin senior writers. In the meantime, two fierce fans desperately chase after their Harlequin-like dream, without realising that they are making their lives much worse…

In her feature documentary debut, Julie Moggan does not control rhythm very well: 85 minutes are definitely too many for the subject and the most interesting characters (the writer and the model) are left behind compared to the women’s story. On the other hand, the choice of making it almost a docu-fiction, showing the women trying to live out a Harlequin story and those who are in that world being completely still is very fascinating. On the whole, especially if you have no interest whatsoever in romance novels, it’s a must-see.

by Marta Musso

READ BRUNO CARMELO’S REVIEW OF GUILTY PLEASURES HERE