Double Dad Movie Review - Double Trouble

Double Dad tarnishes a remarkable premise.

It is the 18th birthday of Vicenza (Maisa Silva). As usual, her birthday wish remains the same: to get to know her father. Her mother, Raion (Laila Zaid), is waiting for the right time to reveal the secret. Vicenza is bred to follow her heart. So as the dear mother departs to India, the daughter comes across an old photo of Raion with another man named Paco (Eduardo Moscovis). Assuming Paco to be the father, she packs her bags and searches for him in the city.

Cris D'Amato's Double Dad is filmed like a fairy tale. The whole look vibes of a children's book filled with bright colors and pulchritudinous illustrations. As Double Dad commences, the camera floats in the air and takes us inside a house through a window to introduce Vicenza. This is the kind of film where everyone carries compassion topped with a smile on their face. When Vicenza needs cash for the bus to the city, she puts her cycle on sale. Within a few minutes, a beaming person comes to make a deal. When asking for directions in the town, the trespassers amicably help this teenage girl. One of them even gives her a lift. Creating such a world gives the screenwriters a license to overcome obstacles with a smile and a bit of convenience. As Vicenza enters an office, help is first placed near one of those blocks that require a swipe from a card to open, while the second is inserted near the lift to aid Vincenza in her mini-challenge requiring her to rightly use the elevator. No sweat is the approach Double Dad takes in this adventure.

Living in a remote area, away from the city, doesn't render Vicenzo as technologically challenged. Not completely, that is. She can handle a cellphone, send texts with it. But her small community has no malls or tall buildings. Hence, the difficulty with the lift. One can surely feel her joy when she rides on the escalators. It takes you back to your first time with those magically moving stairs. Oh, how excited we were.

Coming back to Vicenza's quest, she does find Paco living in messy confines. He is a painter who apparently also teaches painting (we never see a student or hear a mention of one). Under the guise of enrolling in a class, she enters his house, and when Paco's assistant leaves, she drops the bomb of possibly-being-her-daughter on him. As you may have guessed, Paco doesn't digest the fact so easily. He shivers with shock, excitement, surprise, but mostly fright. One moment the man was boozing and lying around with a hangover. The next, he gets greeted by a daughter he never knew existed—what a stupefying day for dear daddy.

If you have been paying attention, you must have noticed the word "possibly" in the above paragraph. It implies that there is no confirmation of the fact that Paco is really the father. Also, take a look at the title; it is Double Dad. Double. This confusion strikes Vicenza when she finds another photo of her mother with another man named Giovanne (Marcelo Médici). The twist is that they both are kissing. And so, she arrives at Giovanne's office, leading to that lift incident. Helping Vicenza in this mission is Cadu (Pedro Ottoni). He is a teen; she is a teen. He is a single boy, she is a single girl. Put two and two together, and obviously, they will fall for each other. It's meant to be. Cadu helps in finding Giovanne on the Internet. He also suggests getting a DNA test to arrive at a specific conclusion. In return, Vicenza helps him and his friends in organizing the carnival.

Cadu is the one character who warns Vicenza of the repercussions she will bring with her actions. What happens is that she starts to enjoy the company of both Paco and Giovanne. As she is not sure who the real father is, she begins to spend time in both their companies. While spending time with one, she would secretly text the other for a plan. These scenes are reminiscent of films where a lover indulges in double dating - one partner is kept in the dark about the other's existence. Sometimes, the lover's friend(s) would assist in this affair. But all things come to an end. The lover is eventually caught in his illicit practice.

The same fate befriends Vicenza when both the maybe-fathers face each other. In a badly executed, heavily contrived scene, set near a stream, the truth is spilled out clumsily. Characters are just thrown on the location to propel the narrative. The ensuing conflict is resolved effortlessly. All this insouciant treatment might have emerged from the intention of making a "children's movie." The term is reduced to a cover to make up for the flaws in the film. Dare to point the finger at an issue and be ready to face the "it is made for the kids" comment. I dig movies having a lighthearted sentiment attached to them. But the problem arises when it sacrifices the emotional core of the story. Double Dad tells us to buy into the drama or exhibit a particular response at a specific instance. It never lets us respond to it. Double Dad never enables the viewer to register the intimacy of Vicenza's journey, resulting in remoteness with this affable world. How much of it is intentional? I don't know. Given the state of our real world, I would have loved to connect with the one Double Dad showcases us. Pity.

Giving credit where it's due, Raion is one of the coolest mothers ever produced by a film. After tracking down her "missing" daughter, she first embraces her, then switches to scolding. It is awesome to see a mother operating on two different modes on the screen. And both come close with the overall tone of the film. The concept of marrying a finding-your-parent scenario with a double-dating thread is astounding. For these two things alone, I would recommend you to watch Double Dad on Netflix. If only there was more to it.

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