Sparkle reminds me of a feeling I've had many times before. I had locked this feeling away in a drawer in a secret office somewhere. By watching this romcom, i was forced to enter that underground bunker, and nervously open the dusty drawer. I am glad that this metaphorical event happened, because it has made me realise that, honestly, the feeling is not that scary. Sure, it was a little uncomfortable at first, but refreshing to finally release what had been repressed for so long. The film brings us a stream of characters, in a periodic, cyclical fashion. Sam Sparkes (Shaun Evans) is our young male protagonist, who abandons everything to move to London, and obtain menial work with the brilliantly bashful Vince (Bob Hoskins). Sam's mother Jill (Lesley Manville), doesn't want to be left behind, so she joins him in London. Hoskins is the perfect choice to play Vince, who sheepishly pines for Jill in a manner which is first just creepy, yet becomes adorable. He is a gentleman, but with urges which drive him to act a little desperate, for instance the moment when he sees Jill bending over outside his window, and chooses to take a photograph! Sam has a brief conversation early on with a fellow waiter, the significance of which is apparent later. The waiter explains jokingly that he slept his way into his job. Sam goes on to meet and charm the much older Sheila (Stockard Channing), whom he not only sleeps with, but indeed, gains employment with. So far, so indie, you might say. A strong comic element hits us in the face in the opening scene, and we are allowed to think that this is a film which is going to be downright silly throughout. But the jokes are amusing, and we soon realise that despite the comedy, we are on tentative ground, because at any moment we can be surprised by a sudden dive into emotional upheaval. So we can certainly call this a romcom without doubt. However, I am left feeling that there is something else to this movie. At a party held by Sheila, a brazen young vixen called Kate (Amanda Ryan) entrances Sam and they have a 'moment'. This of course leads to an affair. Nothing particularly different yet. However, Kate has some secret information regarding her identity, which makes us realise that Sam is not a mere scallywag cheat, but a fully fledged scoundrel. Because when he discovers this secret, he is devastated. But he does not seem concerned for either Kate's nor Sheila's feelings, merely that he is likely to be found out soon. So for the first half an hour, Sam is a cheeky, charming kid, having a great time, and delightfully seducing an older woman to have a mature relationship. Then he falls in love with Kate, and we can't exactly blame him for that. But the way he acts from then on is just a complete switch in personality, so that for me personally I really start to hate him. And this is where my own personal bunker metaphor comes in: Sam represents a part of me that I have previously refused to recognise. None of his specific actions reflect any of mine, I must add. But his selfish tendencies, and refusal to recognise the emotional consequences he may be causing, certainly do remind me of myself in some ways. And that's the main thing I like about this film – apart from the extremely alluring Amanda Ryan as Kate, I like the fact that the main character can be an absolute bastard to the point that we hate him, and yet the film finishes with the problems resolved so that we forgive him, because she does. This means I may be forgiven? Perhaps not, but Sparkle has given me a therapeutic fantasy that I will be. And I enjoyed it.
Review of Sparkle
