Separation City

AroView: Kiwi comedy penned by satirical cartoonist Tom Scott , musing on the struggle of long-term relationships among a group of thirty-something Wellingtonians, this treats its touchy subject with a playful irreverence that is arguably more bitter than sweet.

Scott is a provocateur at heart, and he’s a proven gun with a crack one-liner, but it takes a lot more than provocations to turn in the well-rounded, funny-poignant screenplay that he’s plumbing for here. Reportedly first drafted in the mid-80’s, Scott’s sexual politics seem like a willful baiting of the 70’s feminist movement, as he delights in not letting political correctness stand in the way of the “ugly truth”. Trouble is, there’s a fine line between ‘lovable rogue’ and, er, ‘prick’ (as the film’s by-line puts it) and you may feel that this cast of male characters fall too often into the latter. So plenty to argue about, and indeed Wellingtonians in particular will enjoy the most flattering postcard portrait of their city yet committed to film.