THE STORY – The confident and sexy Fa, who is of Persian heritage and semi-closeted to her otherwise supportive family, crosses paths with Marie Theres—recently separated from a long, suffocatingly bourgeois marriage to a man—at just the right time. While sparks immediately fly, the two women experience the push-pull of being caught between family expectations and their romantic fervor.
THE CAST – Proschat Madani & Caroline Peters
THE TEAM – Kat Rohrer (Director/Writer)
THE RUNNING TIME – 110 Minutes
“What a Feeling” is such an apt title for a film that makes you feel absolute bliss after watching it. Clever, romantic, and entertaining from start to finish, Kat Rohrer’s rom-com is about two middle-aged women who fall in love when they least expect it. Set in one of the world’s most romantic cities, Vienna, creating the tone is easy, but it surprises you with how poignant and heartfelt it becomes. This is the kind of rom-com of which queer audiences need more.
Fa (Proschat Madani) and Marie Theres (Caroline Peters) are strangers. Their paths have never crossed. How could they? Fa is a lesbian carpenter who frequents the “Pussycat Bar” and has a long list of ladies on her arm. Marie Theres, on the other hand, is a doctor, a mother to a teenage girl, and has been married for 20 years. They live in opposite worlds – until they don’t. In a meet-cute that could have ended in Marie Theres meeting her death, Fa almost hits her with her work van while changing and driving at the same time. Fa thinks the situation is hilarious, while Marie Theres is none too pleased. She probably hopes to never see Fa again.
After that snafu, Marie Theres meets her husband to celebrate their anniversary, but it doesn’t go as planned. Her husband, clearly in the middle of a mid-life crisis, wants to take a break. Marie Theres is shattered and also hammered as she walks unknowingly into the same lesbian bar that Fa frequents. They meet again, and Fa is intrigued by the wasted straight woman who is letting loose on the dance floor. The next day, Marie Theres doesn’t remember a thing…did they sleep together? Fa will never tell, but Marie Theres becomes much more curious and amused by the possibility.
They keep running into each other, as though by fate. Eventually, they can’t avoid what is clearly a relationship meant to be. It’s one of those situations where you find a surprising connection when you least expect it. Both of their lives feel like they’re falling apart. Marie Theres’s marriage is over for good, and her daughter wants to live with her father. Meanwhile, Fa’s mother is in and out of the hospital, and Fa is fighting with her siblings over the next steps. But, when the two women are together, as Marie Theres points out, nothing seems to matter except that moment.
With a fantastic cast composed of an eclectic mix of characters and the film finding the comedy in most situations, “What a Feeling” is a blast from start to finish. Writer-director Rohrer, along with co-writers Malina Nwabuonwor and Wolfgang Widerhofer, are adept at capturing comedy that feels very natural and emotions that feel very real. The film does everything a great rom-com should, including keeping you hooked from beginning to end. This comes with exceptionally well-written characters and fiery chemistry between its leads. It’s a treat to see how their relationship changes throughout the film, but especially so to see how they change as individuals.
Madani plays Fa as almost too cool, the kind of woman to whom anyone would be happy to get a chance to talk. She’s a player, sleeping with many different women, but she’s also an entertainer, rapping for a crowd of screaming gays about how she knows who she is. This confidence is attractive, especially to Marie Theres, but we soon find there’s so much more to Fa underneath the surface. She has struggled all these years to be herself around her conservative Iranian family. Madani gets one of those powerful, emotional scenes that stick with you, but what also sticks with you is how Marie Theres can blossom anew. It’s rare to see two middle-aged women in a film not only fall in love but simply live as though there’s still so much more yet to discover. Marie Theres finds passion, color, and life again because of Fa, and it’s so beautiful.
It’s never too late for self-discovery, finding love, or even happiness. These are things we tend to forget, and those reminders are always welcome, especially in a film as feel-good as this one. It’s also so referencing to watch a rom-com whose conflict – finding themselves caught between family expectations and their desire for this relationship – has depth instead of something like the god-awful miscommunication trope. Also, so much attention is given to more than just the film’s leading couple. Everything from the family dynamics to the complications and fears around coming out are engaging. What a feeling to have a movie like this, one that leaves you with nothing but glee.
