With more places lifting guidelines and regulations, many are starting to see the revival and eager reopening of movie theaters. Although many cinemas only have a select list to choose from, many films have stuck to the reliable online debut with increased rental prices for those who truly want to get a first-look at the newest releases.

“Monday,” starring Denise Gough (“The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt”) and Sebastian Stan (“The Falcon and the Winter Soldier”), was one of these films that relied on a solely online release. Directed and co-written by Argyris Papadimitropoulos, the Greek native portrays Greece in an intoxicating light as the drama follows a passionate couple over the course of a year since their initial one-night stand and weekends that follow. 

Set in Athens, Greece, both Irish actress, Gough, and Romanian-American, Stan, play Americans in the film. Gough, in the role of Chloe, is a stubborn and moody lawyer who commences the film with the intentions to leave Athens after a terrible breakup. Stan’s character, Mickey, is a DJ, who has lived in Athens for seven years and is condemned to selling jingles, although his passion lies in live performance and the thrill from the party scene.

After the two are introduced at a party for being the only Americans present, the flame is lit. Rooted in physicality, their intense romance intended to only last the night and ends up winding them with slaps on the wrist after they wind up in handcuffs after waking up covered in sand and nothing else. The film, rated R for good reason, doesn’t shy away from displaying both of their leads in vulnerable states. Spending a majority of the film in either the heat and sun of the Mediterranean coast or under the neon lights of a club, skin is definitely not lacking within the film and was actually a large pull of the film with many opinions on the bodies portrayed.

 Focused on the passion and impulse that can take place within the course of a night, the high continues as the pair spend a glorious weekend together which in its end is truly only the beginning of their turbulent relationship. As the audience follows the couple through their honeymoon phase, the reality of life, the past and the present start to catch up with them to derail their possible future. Gough, tired but trying to make it work, finds herself at odds with Mickey as he continues to slip up and remain immature.

Pulling the audience through time, the film has a unique way of catapulting the viewer through weeks and then suddenly months of Chloe and Mickey’s relationship as they both endure personal choices, secrets and adjusting to their life together as they both attempt to grow, faltering along the way. Acting almost as checkpoints, every few scenes within the second act, “FRIDAY” would flash over the screen signaling the progression of time until it is noted by one of the characters that six months have passed. These checkpoints flash as the couple tries to better themselves and work towards their common goal after a deadline is set before them.

The film’s climax comes in what is considered a foreboding and dreadful scene that initially starts in passion, reflecting the pair’s first few scenes together, although this time, the spark has gotten out of hand as the audience watches all that the two have built come crumbling before them, with Chloe, who has seemingly always had the most to lose within the relationship, getting hit the hardest just as Mickey may finally get back what he has wanted for the past six years. 

In the last seven minutes of the film, a “MONDAY” finally graces the screen as the external repercussions of the climax are resolved for Chloe, while the couple remains fractured and wounded when it comes to their trust. Donning smiles, the film concludes with their fates suspended. Not only have the characters’ passion changed but the reality of their relationship has also been witnessed and exposed of its flaws. A vivid and raw portrayal of love, passion and emotion, “Monday” is the dose of reality that hopeless romantics may or may not need.

Image from Movie Coverage via YouTube