Rendezvous in Chicago
Rendezvous in Chicago is a 2018 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Michael Glover Smith. The film consists of three vignettes that examine Chicago couples at different stages in their relationships. The film premiered at the 2018 Adirondack Film Festival in Glens Falls, New York where it won second place in Audience Choice voting. It is notable for containing a cameo by French actress Haydée Politoff, her first screen appearance in 37 years.
Plot
Rendezvous in Chicago is composed of three vignettes corresponding to the beginning, middle and end stages of a relationship: Paul, a charming young man, attempts to pick up Delaney, a bookish grad student, in an otherwise empty wine bar. Rob and Andy are enjoying the bliss of newly formed couplehood. Julie comes home from work early to find her boyfriend, Wyatt, in bed with another woman.Background and production
According to an interview with PBS Wisconsin, Smith said the first idea he had for the film was its climactic fourth wall-breaking moment: "Whenever I watch movies, I always feel like I'm falling in love with somebody on screen...At a certain point, I wondered, 'Why does the person onscreen never fall back in love with me?'...That sort of led naturally to the question, 'Well, if that were to happen, if the character onscreen were to start flirting with me as a viewer, what would that look like? How could that happen?'"The film was shot in eight days on a budget of $20,000.
Cast
- Clare Cooney as Delaney
- Kevin Wehby as Paul
- Rashaad Hall as Andy
- Matthew Sherbach as Rob
- Nina Ganet as Julie
- Shane Simmons as Wyatt
- Haydée Politoff as Dr. Scherer