Just One More Kiss | Film Review

Love and death: the two things we fear the most and yet, both are inevitable in life. But when the two combine, like it does in Just One More Kiss, the heartache can be disastrous. Max (Patrick Zeller) and Abigail (Faleena Hopkins) swoon each other every chance they get as they celebrate ten years of marriage. They are surrounded by love and positive energy until their intimate gathering results in the end of Max’s life. Abigail’s grief sends her down a path of despair and isolation, but Max’s love for Abigail is strong enough to survive beyond “till death do us part”, when he comes back to her as a ghost.

No one wants to imagine losing the love of their life, but we have all been forced to consider it at some point or another. Maybe a movie or TV show prompted it, a discussion on life insurance, or even if you are a paranoid traveler. The thought destroys us because we believe we will never see or speak to them again, and Just One More Kiss gives an opportunity for two individuals to reconnect after a sudden and tragic loss. The story is deeply about grief, how we all handle coping differently, and why we process things the way we do.

It’s also a story about love. The love that Max and Abigail share is one that is deep and intimate, but you don’t fully believe this until the second act. The beginning has a bit of a rushed pace to it, trying to “get us to the point’. Though, once we get there, it’s easy to see the chemistry between our leads.

One thing that makes any critic legitimately happy, is when we get that level of caution going into a film, wondering if the writer is going to go cliche or not, and then the moment hits where you smile in your wrongness. One of the most beneficial elements to the story is that writer and director, Faleena Hopkins, does not make the ploy of “is this a ghost or is she crazy” throughout the whole movie. This is always a feasible question, but we understand the actual direction early enough into the film so that this is not part of the third act.

Given the nature of the story, the dialogue from the script feels a bit heavy-handed at times and is noticeably hit or miss. Some moments are really strong and others come across rather cheesy, and not in an adorable manner. The two scenes with nudity leave me continually perplexed – not because I’ve never seen boobs before, but because I didn’t really understand the significance or the purpose cinematically. Usually, moments like those are shot by Michael Bay with something more important happening in the background.

Prefacing this next statement with the fact that I cry easily when I am swept up in the moment in a film, but there is one scene that is so powerful and profound. Frances Mitchell, who plays the deceased’s Mother, unravels her grief in one of the most captivating moments in Just One More Kiss. It is an authentically raw performance that everyone who has experienced loss can relate to, but she epitomizes the notion that everyone handles grief in their own way. This makes for a huge uptick in my overall enjoyment of the film.

While there are some flaws in post-production, we must remember the hurdles indie filmmakers face. Often, budget, limited casting, and other barriers put an independent filmmaker behind or out of the race, but those who persist come out with an even stronger story. Writer, director, and lead star, Faleena Hopkins, is no stranger to the struggles of indie filmmaking, as she was also put in a last minute predicament of editing the film with no prior knowledge. The film does struggle with the need for additional sound editing and with film transitions that are very evident but do not fully detract from the film. It appears Hopkins utilized the tools at her disposal to craft together a romantic film she obviously has a passion for.

A moving story on the power of love and loss, detailing the various methods of coping with grief, Just One More Kiss begs for a second chance.