Not to be confused with the dire US rom-com starring Amy Adams, Leap Year follows a month in the life of a freelance journalist called Laura (Monica del Carmen), lonely as sin in Mexico City. The odyssey she embarks on feels a tad familiar (there are shades of Carine Adler’s Under the Skin, as well as Catherine Breillat’s Romance) but Laura has neither the youth nor glamour of most indie-film sex martyrs.
Australian director Michael Rowe, who won a best debut prize at Cannes for his efforts, wants us to look twice at a woman most people would overlook — and succeeds beautifully. Using many of the tactics pioneered by the Dogme crowd (no music, realistic lighting), he layers his film with subtle mysteries, authentic dialogue and tiny, humorous details (even Laura’s coffee mugs remind us of the lack of love in her life). Del Carmen was "the nanny" in Babel. The limelight suits her.
Leap Year
Cert: PG
