Based on the live stage play by Alex Lykos that has toured around the country since 2006, Alex & Eve is a romantic comedy about a Greek Orthodox boy and a Lebanese Muslim girl who, against all odds, fall in love. This Aussie feature shows off the many cultures that live and breathe in Oz (Sydney in particular), and how they seem so different, yet funnily enough, are really quite similar.
In the style of My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Alex is a thirty-year-old, single, Greek, math teacher, who (unsurprisingly), still lives at home with his parents. After all, “rent money is dead money”. He is set up by friends with Eve, who is in the exact same situation, with her strict Muslim family. The film establishes their lives as completely foreign to each other, however, over the course of the film, we begin to see that their family values are identical. That is the sweetness of the film, showing that love is love, regardless of your religion, customs or culture.
Alex, played by Richard Brancatisano, is a straight-laced sweet boy who puts up with a lot from his students, and his family at home. This includes his parents George (Tony Nikolakopoulos) and Chloe (Zoe Carides), who yell at each other almost as much as they yell at Alex. Eve, played by Andrea Demetriades, is a smart, independent woman who is trapped by guilt. She sees her family’s culture, religion, and wants to make them happy by marrying “a good Muslim boy”. Her parents, Salwa (Helen Chebatte) and Bassam (Simon Elrahi) really show the strict nature of the religion, yet at the same time want the absolute best for Eve. Unfortunately, they go as far as to get Eve engaged to Mohomad (Hazem Shammas) who Skypes with them from Lebanon while she sees Alex in Sydney.
The film was shot in a few locations including Mosque’s and Greek Orthodox Churches in Sydney, and includes our glorious coat hanger as a backdrop to Alex and Eve’s blossoming love. The montage sequences that reveal the Orthodox and Muslim worlds, is particularly a treat. This is the new classic Aussie film, really reflecting urban communities, coming from rich and diverse heritages. Alex & Eve takes the story of Romeo and Juliet and plops in straight in our homeland, with a very happy ending.
Review Score: FOUR STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Alex & Eve is released on DVD on 13th of April 2016.
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