If the key to making a successful movie romance is establishing a connection between not only the protagonists but also between them and the audience, then Monday is as destined for failure as the lovebirds at its center. The story of two American expats, Mickey (Sebastian Stan) and Chloe (Denise Gough), living in Athens and their tempestuous relationship, Argyris Papadimitropoulos’s film is so preoccupied with hitting every familiar beat in the romcom playbook, right down to the last-minute dash to the airport, that this relationship never feels like anything other than a screenwriter’s contrivance.
Mickey and Chloe suggest lost souls, partying away the remainder of their 30s with, for him, feckless nonchalance and, for her, melancholy regret. These strangers meet, hook up, spend a weekend together, then suddenly seize the opportunity they’ve provided one another to somehow forge a happy life together. Stan and Gough display a palpable chemistry, but suspension of belief is necessary to accept that the level-headed Chloe, on the eve of returning to America, would submit to a relationship so obviously geared toward the self-destructive.
Stan easily captures the handsome and charming Mickey’s affable sense of humor, so you accept Chloe’s susceptibility to his charms—at least up to a point. As written and performed, though, it’s hard to shake that Mickey is too good to be true. Gough, with her distinctly Celtic straightforwardness, cuts more directly to the essence of her character. Chloe is a more emotionally volatile woman than she allows herself to be, at least until tested, when that volatility comes right to the fore. Gough has an unfussy naturalism that vividly combines with her impressive dramatic range, the evident result of her extensive theatrical training, but this otherwise pedestrian film is undeserving of her performance.
Monday charts a well-worn path through Chloe and Mickey’s relationship as time reveals their fundamental incompatibilities. The inevitable complications occur, from the difficulties of moving in with a new partner to the challenges of bringing disparate social circles together in one place, though none is more bothersome (and predictable) than the old flames still lingering in the background of Chloe and Mickey’s lives. Ultimately, the film is unable to overcome the mundanity of its simple, overly familiar scenario.
Since 2001, we've brought you uncompromising, candid takes on the world of film, music, television, video games, theater, and more. Independently owned and operated publications like Slant have been hit hard in recent years, but we’re committed to keeping our content free and accessible—meaning no paywalls or fees.
If you like what we do, please consider subscribing to our Patreon or making a donation.
