Poughkeepsie is for Lovers is something a little different to what I typically cover. It may be a romance and it may be a drama, but it also takes place in the lead up and to the outbreak of a worldwide nuclear war. Written, co-directed (along with Kelly Van Dilla) and starring Bill Connington, this felt like it was constantly trying to straddle the line between a traditional film and an arthouse movie.
Taking place in the near future, Gothic hipster Charles (Connington) and his artist wife Eve (Natia Dune) have headed out of New York City for a break in the countryside, doubling as a practice escape plan for if Nuclear war breaks out in America. This is something that the government have stated is a very real possibility due to ramping tensions between North America and Russia. The couple are in love, but their relationship has became strained recently. As the unthinkable happens, the couple must find a way to become closer rather than drift apart.
Despite the somewhat pretentious title I still had some hopes for the film. Global apocalypses are a real world horror, and that this film charts the onset of one, rather than taking place in a post-apocalyptic world was a unique take, at least compared to other films I have seen. This may all take place to a backdrop of imminent destruction but the focus is one the couple, with the two being the only actors in the whole film. The only other voice is the news reporter who updates over radio the increasingly desperate worldwide situation. This is also presented as government updates sent via the early warning system to the couple's phones. It seemed implied their relationship had hit a rough spot, I hope that was the case anyway as other than a similar look in the way they dress, the couple had barely any chemistry between them. It leads to a series of arthouse style sequences of them holding hands in various outdoor locations.
The film became more arthouse in style as it went on, leading to a truly baffling end which I'm happy to share here as it had absolutely no bearing on the plot itself. The film's final scene has the couple magically appearing in a huge empty warehouse, where they stand hand in hand as they watch a middle aged woman dressed up like a statue sing a jazz song. I was so baffled by this that I had to skip back to double check that this was indeed metaphysical. Jazz is a constant throughout Poughkeepsie, sometimes discordant and freeform, sometimes more layered, it was at least consistent. I found the directing style to sometimes be abrasive, least impressive to me was the decision to have a terrible looking blurring effect during one sequence, and editing that dragged out scenes, one in particular had Charles turning up at a river where Eva was sat, but the same sequence of him walking up to the riverbed was repeated over and over, not sure why.
Poughkeepsie is for Lovers was a film whose story felt very slight. The focus may be on the couple, yet there didn't seem to really be anything to say. Charles is worried about his son, Eve is worried about her family in Georgia and both seem disinterested in trying to understand where the other one is at mentally and emotionally. A low-key and slow burn drama that uses the idea of a nuclear war as a metaphor for a dying romance, this was a real odd beast. Poughkeepsie is for Lovers became available to rent and own on global digital HD internet and satellite platforms on September 6th, thanks to Freestyle Digital Media.
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