User Reviews

"Whatever Happens" is the most recent filmmaking effort by writer, director and producer Niels Laupert and actually it has been no less than a decade since his previous work, so yeah it really took a while. This movie we got here is 100 minutes long and you could say basically a two-person piece, even if there are more characters involved in smaller roles. It is even not as much of a 2-person piece as you could imagine reading the plot description here on imdb that it is about a couple who broke up recently and now they meet again in their old apartment to sort things out finally. That is really not hitting the nail on the head. Instead it is about their relationship as a whole, starting from their unusual first meeting when they are looking for an apartment and act as if they are a couple to get it. Then it also takes quite a while until they actually get together, which also has to do with her boyfriend. And it could have perfectly happened that she moves out and the two never see each other again. And what happens when she gets pregnant and the two become parents. By the way the protagonists are played by Fahri Yardim, only 4th credit for whatever reason here on imdb, and Sylvia Hoeks. I am usually not too big on Yardim, but I liked him here. Same for Hoeks, I mean how can you not like her. She is really one of the most stunning 30+-year-old (actresse)s I have seen. I can see why she is also enjoying an international breakthrough these days. Anyway, as for the movie I honestly did not think I would enjoy it. But I did. More than I expected for sure, even if of course it is not a great film or best-of-2017 category, not even if you only count German films. So yeah I guess it kinda paid off to wait for this film for 10 years looking at Laupert's not very prolific past. Maybe one reason why it worked so well is that they completely went without comedy and did not even try to turn it into some crappy Schweighöfer look-alike movie even if these draw crowds to theaters, but took the hard, rather indie route and make it 100% about their relationship, in and out of it. Actually, you don't see films like this one very often in Germany these days. And while it was pretty serious all the time, it still had some simple features that took some of the gravity out and did not make it too depressing. It also felt pretty authentic and I never had the impression i was watching actors, even if I knew the duo before and very well actually. This may have had to do with the two giving good performances, but also their chemistry for sure and of course, most importantly, that the film is very well written, has some great attention to detail in the script and too me it was obvious Laupert really understood the soul behind this film and how it feels to fall in and out of love. Best moment? Well, as a heterosexual male I'd say the shower sex scene, but there were other good ones like when they are cleaning the apartment together and the girl comes home. Or the scenes when we see her at work. Spotted the gorilla? Yeah, it felt a bit shallow, but sadly it was still realistic. Also an interesting component how she was the career-driven tough girl, while he kinda lacked objective, but also sacrificed some for her career. And that he starts something with a woman considerably less attractive than hoeks' character, which shows it was all about loneliness and isolation, not about finding someone better at all. Weaknesses? Not too many. Perhaps the music was not always chosen wisely and sometimes also too much in your face with the song selection that hurt some memorable scenes more than it helped them. But it is by no means a deal-breaking criticism. My suggestion here is to watch this movie. I give it a thumbs-up.