Writer/Director: Doug Block
Running Time: 95 minutes
Certificate: E
So you’ve had your big day; the dresses, the speeches, the cake and the drunken uncles but what happens next? What is it about signing on the dotted line that changes everything, or nothing?
Filmmaker Doug Block took on videotaping weddings as an way to provide an extra income but found after joining these people in the run-up to, and filming of, their big day he became emotionally attached – only to send out a wedding video three weeks later and never see them again. Now, 112 WEDDINGS down, the curiosity over what happened to them and their marriages has finally won out and Block meets his subjects in the present day to discover just what life held for them after they said ‘I Do‘.
112 WEDDINGS is very clearly a personal project of Block’s; stemmed out of his curiosity to track these couples down and discover their lives now. He was there with them in the build up to one of, if not the, biggest day of their lives and that is always going to leave a link between them. For the viewer; only allowed the briefest of glances into the wedding day and not as emotionally invested in the couples, it is difficult to feel any real sense of understanding of the couple is gained in these catch ups. Block has gone through his old footage and provided the very basics; a look a the dress, a clip of the vows and a few seconds of the reception but it may as well be 3 blurry photos on Facebook of a distant friend in a crowd of people you don’t know.
When you’re looking at multiple couples in 95 minutes it doesn’t allow for a huge amount of time to be spent on each journey and therefore the insight gained into each happily ever after (or not-so-happily ever after) is limited. The strongest thread of the documentary is the story of Sam and Heather who are wedding 112. Interwoven between stories of couples married long ago, we get to see the preparation for their wedding; the nerves, the excitement and the fun. Heather’s making her own veil and the caterers have let them down at the last minute. It’s these small touches that draw the audience in and should Block go back in ten years and check on Sam and Heather that’s a documentary that would be able to re-engage others.
The topic of life circumstance is very briefly touched upon by several of the couples and it’s an avenue that Block doesn’t really explore but may have provided an interesting debate for the husband and wife sets. Some have faced relatively smooth lives since the wedding day whilst others have endured some tough times. Is it circumstance that affects the end result of the relationship; would those couples have fared differently with a different set of life challenges?
112 WEDDINGS is an interesting concept executed with a stylish flair. It’s a tough ask for an audience to engage fully with a snatched back story but Block makes the most of the 95 minutes to provide a watchable look at these post-wedding accounts.
[usr=3] 112 WEDDINGS is available to buy on DVD from 25th August, you can order you copy and find more information here.
