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I CAN'T THINK STRAIGHT Send This Review to a Friend
A twist to this story of two women falling in love gives “I Can’t Think Straight” an extra dimension. It is their cultural and ethnic backgrounds that make their coming out even more complex than usual, and the film, directed by Shamin Sarif and co-written by her with Kelly Moss based on Sarif’s novel, is entertaining as well as a window on the world its lovers inhabit. The look of the film is impressive and it has the advantage of two beautiful actresses in the starring roles.
Lisa Ray, who many may remember from the Indian film “Water,” plays Tala, a Christian Jordanian who is sort of a have-it-all brat and has walked away from a series of intended marriages. Now her haughty mother, who rules her household in Amman with much pretension (her maid gets even by spitting in her tea before serving it), is in the throes of planning a huge new engagement party. Meanwhile, Tala goes off to London, where she becomes involved with Leyla, a shy Muslim of Indian background played by Sheetal Sheth. Leyla aspires to be a writer and is in the process of finding herself and beginning to realize why she isn’t really attracted to men.
Bingo. When the women become fast friends it leads to love, although with Tala, it is more a question at first of having fun by seducing Leyla without thinking of the consequences. (Don’t men often behave the same way?) Of course, complications arise, not the least of which is finding the strength to tell the truth of who they are to their respective families.
Interestingly, in both instances the fathers are supportive while the mothers get hysterical. There are assorted other characters, including siblings of both women
and the various men on the scene. The love story is not told in a vacuum. At family gatherings the issues of Palestinian-Israeli conflict and anti-Semitism come up, with Tala criticizing suicide bombers and giving a civilized response to the Mid-East conflict. The economic strata is depicted with a polo match and the tennis club game that leads to the affair.
Sarif gives the film a comic touch as well as a romantic one, and she is gingerly in how much sex she puts on screen. The film, although having its share of clichés and caricatures, has the aura of being aimed at mainstream audiences rather than being a mission entertainment for gays and, even with the supporting characters, broadly delves into the issue of how important is to be true to oneself. A Regent Releasing release.
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