Milk and Cookies

Milk and Cookies sees a couple coming together in a restaurant, some time after their relationship has already ended. The reason for the meeting is not clear, and there is a certain amount of tension in the air.

The film opens with this tension, and doesn't give the viewer a lot to go on – which is an approach I liked from it. The focus is very much on the couple, their table, and this moment; and aside from some flashbacks under the dialogue, this is where we stay – so everything we come to understand about the couple and their relationship, we get it through this current interaction. This is a nice approach as it keeps the viewer in the moment, and also means we do not need longer extrapolation of the story. This plays out quite well as an idea, and the conclusion is similarly tidy and neat, so it is a shame that one main aspect lets the film down, and that is the performances.

This is not to say that the actors are the issue, but rather the manner of delivery very much kept me in the mind of watching actors "act", rather than watching people "be". This is there from the start, and it stopped me getting connected to the two people, and getting into their situation; instead it felt "performed" by them, which of course it is – but it would have been stronger had it managed to do that but have more of a natural air to it. It is a shame, because I liked the film otherwise, but this one aspect does detract from the others.