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Rising star Gael García Bernal will probably never be seen kicking someone’s ass. It’s part of his appeal: pretty, passive, manipulated. He has a go at fisticuffs in this resurrected post–Y tu mamá también feature, but it’s just not in his character, whatever that is. His Kit is an unemployed London actor (he’s part Brazilian, part British, hence the erratic accent) who falls for a neurotic ("very Betty Blue," as one character describes her in this very film-referential film) Spanish woman (would-be J. Lo Natalia Verbeke) a week before her wedding. Her fiancé, Barnaby (James D’Arcy), on the other hand, towers over Kit and seems very much the ass-kicking type, though he plays his part very touchy-feely. So between that and first-time director Matthew Parkhill’s clumsy flashbacks (and flashbacks within flashbacks), it’s clear that everything is not as it seems. Be forewarned, this independent film about the perils of mixing art and life is as subtle as a ballpeen hammer in dotting its i’s. Bernal, though, is easy on the eyes, and he almost makes it worth watching. (92 minutes)
BY PETER KEOUGH
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