What If

Hazza Potts is trying his hand at something new: romcoms. Daniel Radcliffe's post-Potter career has been nothing if not varied. From frolicking naked in the stage show Equus to wandering around haunted houses in The Woman in Black, it would seem that Radcliffe is willing to try his hand at anything. And so, his latest film What If sees him attempt to update that age-old question: can men and women really just be friends?

Many things in life annoy me. Slow walkers, people saying “myself” when they really mean “me”, dog owners who think that everyone else likes dogs, and film dialogue which sounds like the writer has thought about each line for two weeks. You know the sort, dialogue that's hugely contrived, trying to be clever and zany and ends up being nothing like conversations which take place in the real world. Many of the conversations in What If fall into this trap. Take one of the opening scenes, for example, where Wallace (Radcliffe) first meets Chantry (Zoe Kazan) at a house party. It's a scene conducted entirely with one-liners and is far too hokey to be engaging. Indeed, I wanted to give all the characters a good slap. As the film progressed, the dialogue did get a little more tolerable but the damage had already been done.

Aside from scripting issues, the overall tone of the film is really rather annoying. You only have to read the characters' names – Wallace, Chantry, Dalia and Allan, with two 'ls' – to guess at the 'alternative' aspirations of the film-makers. But, far from being a novel reinterpretation of When Harry Met Sally for the texting generation, What If squanders any potential with its ending, which is as predictable and unsurprising as England's World Cup performances.

However, despite all the try-too-hard hipness, unrealistic characters and unremarkable plotting, What If hit home. There were individual sequences, moments of snatched dialogue which rang true. When Harry Met Sally is, without a doubt, a far better exploration of male/female relationships and the definitive film on the topic. But the awkwardness of Radcliffe sometimes cuts through the kookiness and mirrors the best of When Harry Met Sally, updating the themes for the present day. Before you think that I got sucked into the film and developed an affinity for the characters and their predicaments, I didn't. But What If is a great example of the mantra that you get out of a film what you bring to it – in other words, certain moments struck a chord with me and made me reflect on real-life issues. The characters may not be likeable but that doesn't stop you transposing your own concerns onto them and leaving the cinema with a fresh-perspective.

I'm glad I saw What If. Not because it's a good film: it's rather forgettable and unsuccessful at contributing to the debate on friendship and love in the twenty-first century. But if it sets you thinking, makes you realise the priorities in your own life and sparks a new momentum in your thoughts, then it can't be all that bad. 

Clapperboard Rating: * * *