Independent Film Review – Til Death Do Us Part

I know I’m getting on a bit and am quite prepared to accept some of the blame for not being able to settle into Til Death Do Us Part as quickly as I may have hoped. To start with there was, obviously, the beginning. This consisted of a drone shot of a church steeple and a bell was tolling. We cut to inside where Best Man (Cam Gigandet) is working on his speech. We know who he is and what he’s doing because “BEST MAN’S SPEECH” is written in big letters at the top of the piece of paper he’s writing on. The music playing is that light, jolly stuff that just screams Hallmark romcom and the first five minutes of screen time does absolutely nothing to dispel that particular image from the viewer’s imagination.

We then cut back and forth between shots of Groom (Ser’Darius Blain) getting into his tux and Bride (Natalie Burn)putting finishing touches to her hair while bridesmaids walk past. The groom’s men enter the church and go to their places and then there is a shot of the whole party waiting at the alter; Groom and his chaps on one side, the bride’s maids on the other. Bride puts on her veil and walks into the church where she sees a woman holding a baby and another child standing beside her. A strange look passes over Bride’s face and the title card fades in. When the title fades out we’re on a beach in Puerto Rico. Groom is taking photos of Bride in the sea. She walks up and says a line about why did it take so long to get a ring on her finger.

You Look Like The Little Mermaid

So far so very romantic. It seems like they got married. The music and mise en scène has all been saying fluffy and light film about a couple getting married and going on honeymoon. They go for a drink and a dance and chat about the delay being caused by the university they work at not allowing them to get together. Which is where the confusion starts to set in. What university would bother about two faculty members getting together? Certainly none that I’ve ever worked in. There would be some raised eyebrows if it was a lecturer and a student but, given most tertiary education students are over the age of consent, it is unlikely to be much of a problem. Let’s just put that to one side for now, shall we.

So Bride and Groom reach a bar where they can drink and dance. They are also snogging with commendable enthusiasm. That is until their public display of affection causes an older couple, Husband (Jason Patric) and Wife (Nicole Arlyn), to metaphorically dowse them in iced water. However, there are no hard feelings and the two couples get to chatting and strike up a bit of a bond. Next thing is something totally different though…Bride is in her wedding dress and driving somewhere…alone! Groom rings Bride and pleads with her to come back and they can sort everything out. Bride says that she wants out, presumably from the university that they work at. Well, I’ve been through some shocking Ofsted inspections in my time so I get where she is coming from!

The Definition Of Love…

Bride arrives at a house. It could be her house or some other relations as there are family photos dotted around. She grabs a drink, puts on a record and starts to relax. Shortly afterwards, another car pulls up and who should get out but Best Man. Incidentally, if you are wondering why I’m addressing the characters by their roles rather than their names that’s because none of them are given a name. Anyway, Best Man rings Groom to tell him that they’ve found Bride. Best Man is told to just make sure Bride stays put until Groom can get there. To help him there are Groom’s Men 1 through 7. Actually there is no Groom’s Man 5. My guess is he ended up on the editing room floor. And this is where it all starts to change…

The non linear time line shows itself by jumping back and forth between scenes at the house and scenes in and around Puerto Rico. That in and of itself wouldn’t be too bad if it weren’t for the confusion caused by the wedding scene at the beginning and assuming the Puerto Rico trip was the honeymoon following the wedding. Still, that is all rapidly forgotten when it turns out that they don’t actually work in higher education but in some sort of assassination agency called The University. The remainder of Til Death Do Us Part is filled with masses of high octane action with breathing spaces courtesy of the revealing of the young couple/older couple storyline. All in all, quite an exciting way to pass the time.

Til Death Do Us Part is on UK digital platforms from 15^th April 2024.

Movie Grade: B