Tick Tock Lullaby Movie Review and Director Interview by Anna Romer 4/16/08

<!--StartFragment-->

Tick Tock Lullaby, the latest offering from talented Lisa Gornick opens with gentle lush music and whimsical watercolor sketches that quickly lead us to the two leading ladies, Sasha and Maya in bed dissecting their donor candidate list of friends and other options. It’s comical, touching, and a heartbreaking reminder of the long, often complicated path towards parenthood for the modern day lesbian.

<!--break-->

In an effort to sort through her hopes, fears and concerns embarking on this path, Sasha (played by writer/director Gornick) lets us in on the chatter in her mind via glimpses into the life of a straight couple and the personal almost predatory attempts of the straight woman’s sister to get pregnant on her own.

One is left alternately laughing and sighing over these scenes. Not because they are poorly done. They aren’t. They are exquisitely rendered.

No, dear reader, the responses you’ll have will be due to the frailty and precious weight of our own minds and hearts and the tendency we have, gay or straight to complicate our lives.

Why do we want to become parents?

Why are those we love suddenly held up to a cruel light as partners in parenthood when only moments before, they were near perfect?

Are we good enough?

Are we ready?

Mat Davidson supplies the soundtrack, matching the movie expertly. Counterbalancing the seriousness of some scenes with his playful score, he grounds others with a tango affect, reminding us that despite our self-imposed quagmire, this is all simply a dance.

You’ll find yourself hoping the characters figure this out. My favorite aspect of this film is watching the characters surprise themselves for better and for worse.

Director Woody Allen is known for this sort of exploration in his work and many a review for this film has compared Ms. Gornick to Mr. Allen. I look forward to someday hearing of future filmmakers compared to Ms. Gornick instead. If she keeps her pace, this shouldn’t be a problem.

The movie is available on dvd from Wolfe Video.

What follows are a few questions and answers from the director herself.

(VP) The scene between Maya and Sasha in the park where they begin criticizing one another's personalities is rather brutal.

Was it written to be so sharp?

(LG) The last time we saw Maya and Sasha was when they were dancing with Laurence. Sasha is slumped on a sofa, as if resigned to the flirtation that Maya feels she has to do for their task at hand.

So