3.5/5
Review by John P. Harvey.
What If… is one of a short list of films — some new, some not — that have been screening around the country for the 29th Greek Film Festival. This film was made, and set, during Greece’s most difficult economic period yet, when unemployment skyrocketed due to fiscal austerity measures.
When his dog, Mona (played by Jackie), begs young Athenian professional Dimitris (Christopher Papakaliatis, who also wrote and directed the film) for her nighttime walk, he overcomes his tiredness and takes her out, narrowly missing a violent break-in and instead meeting the love of his life, Christina (Marina Kalogirou).
Or does he stay in and meet the robbers?
What if… follows both options, something that’s possible in fiction as it almost always is not in real life, using the timeline split to explore whether fate may have certain things in store for us regardless of our choices.
In either option, in the story’s background, Dimitris’s work as an advertising director comes under threat due to the Greek Crisis. So far he’s doing okay. But that will change!
The film uses interesting foreshadowing to bring us to a major turning point in each timeline: in one, hinting at the aftermath of a road accident; in the other, hinting at the aftermath of a television-studio discussion. These two turning points are in no other way parallel, and more generally the film’s question concerning fate receives answers both negative and affirmative. (It’s possible, though, that the case for the negative was biased by marked differences in the leads’ personalities between one timeline and the other.)
With fine acting pulling the dual stories forward and useful hairstyle differentiation keeping us certain of which timeline we’re following, What If… presents with a sympathetic eye and pleasing camera work a split tale of the long-lasting, unpredictable effects of even minor decisions. It leaves the viewer plenty to consider and invites broader exploration of modern Greek cinema.
The 29th Greek Film Festival is screening at Palace cinemas over various periods in October–November.