Someone Borrowed Review

Romantic Movie Netflix

A commitment phobic 30-year-old guy is forced to hire a fiancé as his mother’s dying wish is to see her son married. Rest assured, the director Chris D’Amato turns a typically mundane plot into a romcom that keeps audiences glued to their seats without fail.

Commitment phobic Luiz

Luiz (Caio Castro) is living a dream life of by staying in his family house in Sao Paolo, Brazil with his mother. He hails from a big family of 4 siblings, where he is the only guy among his sisters who are all married and living separately. He is commitment phobic and is quick to ensure that every relationship he has does not last longer than 3 months.

Fiancé for Hire? Things change however, when his mother played by Patricya Travassos falls unwell, and expresses that her last wish is to see her son married before she departs. She also threatens to cut him off from his inheritance and reduce his allowance if he does not get married as she cannot tolerate how he takes everything for granted. Selfish Luiz is now forced into a corner and decides he requires a fake girlfriend who can pose with him for 6 months until his mother passes away. His sister Maria Inez who he hates starts taking advantage of the situation to spy on him and gloat in his unhappiness. Therefore, he starts calling all the previous girls he has dated in the past to see if anyone would be willing to pose as his fiancé for 6 months and does not find much luck with them. His friend Nestor tells him about a girl, Lina who is an actress and has posed as a fake relative or wife in his friend’s circle. Luiz decides to contact her to see if she would be able to assist. My feeling up to this point in the movie was neutral despite the story being so run of the mill because of the good acting skills portrayed by all the characters which included Luiz, his mother, and his jealous sister Maria Inez. Despite not knowing Portuguese I felt that the characters personalities were quite relatable which was the biggest selling point of this movie considering its release on Netflix where the director knew that this film would be viewed by audiences overseas.

Broke Lina

We now enter the eccentric world of Lina (Thati Lopes) who is a broke actress and makes her living through accepting odd acting jobs from people who require her to pose as a fake relative or wife. She receives an invite from Luiz to pose as his fiancé for 6 months at varied family functions when she is on the verge of getting evicted from her place, she graciously accepts the position.

Spying Tactics

Luiz introduces Lina to his family at the earliest over a generic dinner. The camaraderie shared between the women in this romcom is mind blowing and shows how a romance film is not just about the couple. The arrangement set between Luiz and Lina then takes a twist when Luiz’s excited mom presents them with a set of keys to their family apartment much to the antagonization of Maria Inez. Maria Inez continuously spies on Luiz and Lina who are trying to lead separate lives which leaves them no choice but to live together. Maria Inez insists on an impromptu double date when Luiz is supposed to be out with his other girlfriend Suellen Gloria resulting in Lina saving the day by meeting Suellen and acting as Maria Inez and informing her that Luiz is unwell and unable to make it. The random twists in the story due to interventions from Maria Inez are entertaining to say the least.

Language Barriers

I wish to take a bit of time to digress from reviewing this romcom to expressing my views towards my first review of a foreign language movie. Growing up in Singapore I often found myself at odds with several friends who have watched and thoroughly enjoyed foreign language films such as Amelie (2001). I often wondered how one watched such movies and wondered whether I would acquire the taste to watch such movies. I am glad to say that I have succeeded over time having developed an interest especially for Turkish series such as Kalikusu and Resurrection Ertugrul which can be found on Netflix and IMDB. In India we have English movies which are dubbed in Indian languages and are released for audiences who don’t know English. Quite to the contrary I wouldn’t recommend any reader to watch dubbed foreign language movies as it literally plunders the actors’ on-screen performance as we cannot understand their body language and the actor’s intonation. I underwent the same experience in the initial 15 mins of Someone Borrowed and I am so glad I switched to watching this movie in Portuguese with English subtitles.

Comedy of Errors
The movie moves ahead to become a comedy of errors as most sections involve Luiz and Lina having to spend time together to ensure Maria Inez does not suspect them to be a fake couple. Along the way however both characters develop a good friendship and Lina finds herself developing feelings for Luiz amid their rooftop conversations which took place daily. Lina enjoys Luiz’s domestic cooking which helps him realize his potential by getting him to cater for events. He starts earning good money as a chef thereby making him an independent person.
 
Moment of truth
Their liaisons are exposed to Suellen Gloria and to Maria Inez when Luiz, Lina and Suellen go on a camping trip so that Luiz and Suellen can spend time on their own together and have sex. Lina pretends to be a wild animal in the middle of the night and makes scary sounds to scare Luiz and Suellen. The next morning a disgruntled Luiz heads off with Lina to take pictures leaving his phone alone in the tent with Suellen when Maria Inez calls and Suellen answers. Suellen drives off leaving Luiz and Lina stranded at the camping spot. Chris D’Amato makes this moment of truth scene look like a mark of true art as I was left laughing my head off even at such a serious moment. The only dramatic sequence in this movie is the ending which merely lasted 15 – 20 mins thereby ensuring that the entertaining sequences of this romcom remain with audiences.
 
Conclusion
There is very little to explain when you watch such a lighthearted romantic movie with a couple that complements one another effortlessly. Someone Borrowed is one such romcom which teaches audiences the basics of compatibility in a lighthearted manner. Kudos to the lead protagonists and the supporting actors for amazing character portrayal. I grant this romcom a 4/5 rating.