This darkly humorous film explores the personal psychic landscape of two lonely New Yorkers. Jackie and Michael are coworkers at a large law firm, who decide to meet at Jackie's for dinner one night. As this 'first date' plays out, the audience is guided through a mental minefield of disappointment, desolation, and desperation. Their conversation, with its awkward 'small talk', slowly reveals their unhappy lives....... (Full plot summary below)
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This darkly humorous film explores the personal psychic landscape of two lonely New Yorkers. Jackie and Michael are coworkers at a large law firm, who decide to meet at Jackie's for dinner one night. As this 'first date' plays out, the audience is guided through a mental minefield of disappointment, desolation, and desperation. Their conversation, with its awkward 'small talk', slowly reveals their unhappy lives....
Leave your thoughts about What Happened Was....
| Boston GlobeJay CarrA haunting, expressionistic portrait of two lonely souls who have reached out for companionship and instead found themselves on a proving ground, where they are mercilessly denuded of their protective lies and self-deception. |
| VarietyEmanuel LevyThis intense, mysterious drama about a date between two lonely misfits, is sensitively directed by Tom Noonan, better known as an actor; it was the surprise winner of the Grand Jury Prize of the 1994 Sundance Film Festival. |
| Christian Science MonitorDavid SterrittWhat Happened Was … dissects the interminable hopefulness of dating. Noonan, who also wrote the script, has an ear for believable dialogue, and Sillas (Simple Men, Risk) allows every conceivable emotion to ripple across her face, which is a landscape unto itself. |
| Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaOff-Broadway actor Tom Noonan, best known for his offbeat, crazy and villainous roles on stage and screen, emerges as a talented writer and director in What Happened Was, an intriguing, often mysterious drama about a date between two lonely misfits. |
| ReelViewsJames BerardinelliFor something billed as a lightweight romantic comedy, What Happened Was... wades through some surprisingly deep waters. |
| Washington PostDesson ThomsonThe movie (written and directed by Noonan), which took the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, is not as profound as the festival laurels imply. But when all is said and said, the fate of this relationship -- left hanging as the movie ends -- becomes a matter of compelling significance. |
| Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam ArnoldWhat Happened Was... is in many ways an admirable movie, and Noonan and Sillas do a quiet, thorough job of representing these two people who seem on the edge of being walled up inside their own walls. There are many small moments of perfect observation. But I never really felt they were building to anything, or heading anywhere. |
| Nick's Flick PicksNick DavisAbsorbing character-based drama that yields plenty of nuances and variations on its simple premise. |
| USA TodayMike ClarkIn performance, as in the rest of this film, Mr. Noonan only haltingly captures what he seeks. |
| Washington PostRita KempleyAn uneventful actors' exercise better suited to off-off-Broadway theater. |
