Drab British realism meets gimmicky American romantic comedy -- with mixed results -- in this ensemble piece about breaking up, making up, and salsa dancing. At its core, Born Romantic is closest in spirit to the darkly sentimental Dogme films, particularly Lone Scherfig's Italian for Beginners. Shot with handheld camera and little light, the film evinces a certain amount of desperate authenticity from its stellar cast, primarily the three talented women who form its trio of unlucky-in-love bachelorettes, Olivia Williams, Jane Horrocks, and Catherine McCormack. But the sad-sack men of the film seem to be on a different page entirely, alternating from the pathetic (Jimi Mistry) to the impossibly sage (Ian Hart) and John Thompson). Ultimately, director David Kane's grungy sense of style can't hold all the diverse elements of Born Romantic together, and what should've been a lighter-than-air souffle ends up with a consistency closer to that of a shoe sole.
