An Oversimplification of Her Beauty

Released Apr 26, 2013

1h 24m

Comedy

Drama

Romance

List

82%

Tomatometer

38 Reviews

60%

Audience Score

500+ Ratings

After a woman fails to show up for their date, an artist (Terence Nance) ponders the divide between romantic and platonic love, and why his past relationships have failed.

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Kate Muir

Times (UK)

This is as fresh as it is self-indulgent, an intelligent piece of navel-gazing. The film loses momentum in the last third, but if this is his calling card, Nance is a young film-maker worth watching.

Jan 2, 2018

Full Review

Geoffrey Macnab

Independent (UK)

Not so much a feature film as a series of cinematic doodles and self-reflexive ruminations on the subject of obsessive love.

Rated: 2/5

Feb 14, 2014

Full Review

Mark Kermode

Observer (UK)

Mind-boggling fare indeed.

Rated: 3/5

Feb 9, 2014

Full Review

Ben Nicholson

CineVue

A heady mix of fact and fiction, live action and animation, it's an enthralling collage that toys with the fluidity of narrative, experimenting with myriad emotions and ideas.

Rated: 4/5

Mar 7, 2019

Full Review

Matthew Roe

Film Inquiry

Whether or not you side with anyone in the film on any of the themes, An Oversimplification of Her Beauty is a solid stroke of inventive creativity and artistic integrity, all buttressed by a profound love and understanding of film.

May 28, 2018

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J Hurtado

ScreenAnarchy

An Oversimplification of Her Beauty is the rare film that is able to connect on a visceral, emotional level without the benefit of a traditional story.

Nov 6, 2017

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Georgan G

The animation is wonderful here. The film within a film is confusing, as is the entire concept. It's fine that this young man is searching to be a better person, as well as find a partner. But this is a total art fine, without any beginning, middle or end.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

08/19/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A raw and compelling compilation that somehow is able to give insight to the confusing emotion that is love. The visuals are wonderful and the word choice made my heart ache. I love every second of it.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/22/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I will be the first to admit that some won't appreciate the complexity of this movie, although all have lived it. Cookie cutter movies have become so much the norm that it is a forgone conclusion that it should have a happy ending. Thank you sooooo much for exploring heartbreak, unfulfilled expectations, mistakes, and bad assumptions that really are the reality of love. Damn good romance!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/25/23

Full Review

Audience Member

"It began looking interesting. It became increasingly and annoyingly self-indulgent." - Rodd Whelpley (I agree.)

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/26/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A beautiful journey into the minds of (boy) Terrance and (girl) Nimak. The film navigates through the inner thoughts and insecurities of Terrance (which mirrors "every straight man" that would be in that situation), this is displayed with gorgeous animation. The film is a about Terrance's experience with Nimak while they were dating. She was aware that he was a filmmaker but didn't realize the film was about their relationship. Parts of the film has excerpts of his 2012 film "How Would You Feel". In many ways the film over examines their relationship to where it becomes exhausting. This adds more reality to the story because most people can relate to the feelings Terrance has for Nimak. At one point or another we've all had insecure thoughts of how we feel for someone else. This shows a very vulnerable and beautiful side to love and how Terrance sees things. Most of the film is seen through his prospective. The film is both simple and complicated much like love.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/03/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Begins marvelously and continues from there. However, the overanalyzing nature of it all begins to drone on after a while. While artistically perfect, I wouldn't call this the best of indie filmmaking.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/14/23

Full Review

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Terence Nance

Director

Terence Nance

Actor

Namik Minter

Actor

Talibah Lateefah Newman

Actor

Alisa Becher

Actor

Jc Cain

Actor

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48%

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13%

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84%

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Synopsis

After a woman fails to show up for their date, an artist (Terence Nance) ponders the divide between romantic and platonic love, and why his past relationships have failed.

Director: Terence Nance
Producer: Paul Bernon, Jason Weissman
Screenwriter: Terence Nance
Distributor: Variance Films
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 26, 2013, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 31, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA): $66.0K
Runtime: 1h 24m

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