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The recipe for a rom-com is never an acquired taste. It should instantly make you go ‘yummy’ or else it is unpalatable. To be honest, I had minimal expectations from a film with a title as unadventurous as What a Feeling. But what is cinema if it doesn’t throw you off guard once in a while? Kat Rohrer’s film is modern and syrupy yet uncomplicated. It has everything you would want from a breezy rom-com.
Protagonist number one is Dr. Marie Theres Wallner (Caroline Peters) who gets the shock of her post-40 life upon hearing her oddball husband’s sudden ask to get separated. At the other end is Fa Safir (Proschat Madani), a queer carpenter whose ailing (and demanding) mother keeps taking trips to the hospital. The duo meets for the first time at the local lesbian bar run by a perky owner. Sparks do not fly immediately due to a bunch of reasons that the film slowly identifies and addresses. When it finally does, it talks a lot about the generation it tries to encompass.
What a Feeling is not a straight-lined story. Behind the scenes are more complex issues such as sexual harassment at work (Maria has a lecherous superior) and the poor conditions of women in Iran (from where Fa hails). Kat Rohrer also moves us with the way the protagonists’ family reacts to their big revelation. More than everything, there is a level of maturity in how the couple tackles their immediate relationship issues. The writing, which is in sync with the psyche of the middle-aged women, is aware of their life experiences. I particularly loved the manner it graphs Maria’s relationship with her teenage daughter.
Kat Rohrer’s film is also confidently gay. There’s a minor character of a gay doctor (essayed by Rafael Haider) who makes an impression even in brief appearances. It’s equally about the performance as well as the integration of the character into the larger scheme of things. Speaking of that, What a Feeling makes us wish some of the interactions were better fleshed out – notably the one between Fa and her sister and Maria’s final duel with her boss, which reaches a safe conclusion too fast.
Actors Caroline Peters and Proschat Madani are radiant throughout, and the chemistry they generate is electric. The ‘opposites’ attract’ vibe works for the genre with a couple of tastefully filmed intimate scenes (DOP: Michael Schindegger). Heikko Deutschmann gets a hilarious part he nails while Allegra Tinnefield as Maria’s daughter is a refreshing actor.
What a Feeling does not contain outrageous or unpredictable twists. Kat Rohrer carves a truthful narrative that does justice to two middle-aged women in love. The film paints an atmosphere of empathy which helps the flow glow in its rom-com goodness. It makes me realize why we need more stories that normalize same-gender love without having to resort to flags and slogans.
Rating: ★★★ 1/2
What a Feeling was screened at the 36th Annual New York LGBTQ+ Film Festival by New Fest.
