-49.2-

Yesterday (8/28/2012) I went with my parents and saw the movie "Ruby Sparks".
At first, I was bothered by the fact that everyone seemed to be speaking in mumbles, but after the story started to pick up, I quickly became interested in more of the story line than the audio (also, they speak louder later on thankfully).
The movie is about a new, young, best-seller author who's in a bit of a writer's block. His psychiatrist gives him a writing assignment, and he starts writing about a girl, Ruby Sparks. Somehow, Ruby comes to life and thinks that the author is her boyfriend (I'm not going to go on from there, since there would be spoilers, but I am going to mention that the author discovers that he can control Ruby using the pages of the story he wrote about her)!
Although there is a fantasy element to it, the movie is more of a slice of life. Many of the scenes surrounded the author's relationship with his family, work, and relationship with the girl rather than focusing on why and how the girl came to be (even then, the story barely went into detail about that... she just appeared in his house one day!) The fact that the author could control Ruby was more of a plot device to transition to their different relationships, and show how insecure the author was, than anything else. The plot climaxes as the author becomes more reliant on controlling Ruby. But...I'm happy to say that the ending is an uplifting one, in that it gave the main character another chance!
I tried to pay attention to how the movie was shot, and I noticed whenever they used the rule of thirds. Two scenes, especially, stood out to me. The first was when the two main characters switch places, all the while staying in the rule of thirds (one is on the steps in the background while the other is in the foreground, then the person on the steps moves into the foreground while the other moves into the background). The second was when Ruby was in a room, and the light flicks on showing the shadow of the person who entered in the glass window.
The acting was extremely well done. At first it's subtle, the characters act so normal that you don't even think that they're acting, then later on as Ruby becomes more controlled, her quick changes in mood emphasize how well the actress can change....almost at a drop of a hat! (Some scenes reminded me of our improv games in class where we switch the mood in the middle of the scene...)

After the movie, as the credits were rolling, my Mom pointed out that the screenplay writer was the same as the actress of Ruby Sparks. Later on, I found out that "Ruby Sparks" is the actual girlfriend of the main actor! Learning about these outside-the-screen relationships put a whole new level on the story....it's like Inception with how mind-blowing it is....

Misc. points:
-Interesting story line...reminded me a bit of the death note storyline >.> how the author slowly abused his power via. controlling people (in this case, a person) through a writing journal