R

LEADPARA>Radit dan Jani (Drama, 110 minutes) Starring Vino G. Bastian, Fahrani, Marrio Merdhitia, Joshua Pandelaki, Nungki Kusumastuti. Directed by Upi. Produced by Investasi Film Indonesia.

Everything is OK as long as we've got rock and roll.

It seems that this is the point that writer-director Upi is trying to make with her film characters, for the second time. Rock and roll provided the rock, no pun intended, for two teenage boys to hold on to as they went through the aching process of coming of age in her previous film, Realita, Cinta dan Rock 'n' Roll (Reality, love and rock 'n' roll).

With her third directorial endeavor, Radit dan Jani, Upi stays on a similar path, but this time she puts that point to a bit of a challenge: is rock and roll really enough to help you rock through the harshness of life -- as depicted in the troubled romance of two young, married lovebirds, Radit and Jani?

Of course, rock and roll here is not depicted in the literal sense of the word, but more as an underlying spirit of the film -- and the characters, to whom life is all about carefree roughhousing and tough fa‡ades.

Radit is a band member who is too high up in his idealism and would rather starve (and is therefore banished from the band) than sell out playing mainstream music in caf‚s with his mates.

His wife Jani is willingly dragged into the life of Radit's poor, struggling artist -- plus a drug addiction to go with it -- although her flashy wardrobe might hint at a feeble reluctance to let go of the comfortable life of her well-to-do family, which she left for her husband.

Together they lead a life on the wild side, of shoplifting and theft and running away from just about everything. But all is good, as long as they have each other; until Jani gets pregnant and reality kicks in, and Sid and Nancy here have to descend from their rock and roll heaven as their relationship spirals down in self-destruction.

Ironically, for a story that talks about reality, the script could use a bigger dose of it. The dialogue sounds distractingly unprocessed, superficial and textbook, like a first draft in need of further work. Some lines sounds more like a verbalization of situations than actual lines.

This might seem trivial but it's actually quite fundamental. Such dialogue doesn't make the situations ring true due to the lack of dimension.

Some characters and actions fail to come to life because they're written in such a two-note and banal way. Jani's angry father and a mother recoiling under his domineering shadow couldn't be more typical, for instance.

Eventually, the characters seem plastic, and if we can't see them as real people, how can we connect with them?

This results in a tough surface to break, preventing us from plunging down and finding their souls: the soul of Jani's parents, the soul of Radit's band, the soul of Jani's brother and most importantly, the souls of Radit and Jani themselves.

It also doesn't help much that Radit and Jani are not very likable characters to begin with. It's completely valid that their way of life makes them public enemies, but it's important that we get absorbed into their world, empathize with them and eventually root for their love.

Halfway through the film, I was still looking for that moment.

Radit is short-fused over insignificant matters and keeps blowing every chance he gets.

Fortunately, Vino's raw and genuine -- and nothing short of phenomenal, in fact -- performance redeems things and slowly draws sympathy, and makes his more emotional scenes truly moving.

On the other hand, Fahrani's actually decent performance couldn't do much for Jani's flat, inconsistent and passive character right up to the very end.

Upi maintains the reputation she made with Realita as a director with edge. Her visual work is becoming more assured, her jittery camera work in sync with the characters' restless uncertainty, and the art direction lends a gritty but still hip look for the film.

However, she lacks nuance when it comes to directing her cast. Everyone seems to fulfill their roles in black and white. With a more sensitive direction in the restaurant kitchen scene (when a nosy co-worker first confronts Jani), for example, she could've kept Jani's character from being the gratuitous b--ch that she is.

With the film's tag line, "Brutally Romantic", Upi seems to want to make a romance that stays at arm's length from sentimentality.

However, brutality is not just about swearing all the time and calling each other every derogatory name found in the dictionary. Again, that is just the surface.

The brutality would be much stronger if it came in the form of something more essential to their relationship. I don't know, psychological manipulation? Passive-aggressive mind games? Self-destructive love? Anything that is slowly eating away this relationship.