One woman, one man: Good Dick. It all sounds so simple

Good Dick is Glaswegian ex-pat Marianna Palka's writing and directional debut. Released in October of last year, it was a massive hit at Sundance and won Palka 'New Directors Award' at the Edinburgh Film Festival. It was apparently, but not evidently, "shot for a pittance with friends for cast and crew", including Palka (the woman) and longtime boyfriend and the film's co-producer, Jason Ritter (the man). This parallel coupling comes to light so sweetly not only because the "longtime" is nine years (they are 28 and 29 respectively) but because they produce "one of the most fascinating on-screen movie couples in quite some time." Cinematical

Palka's labour of love is a "battle-scarred comedy about the pained romance of pair of social misfits -– he's a homeless video clerk, she's a misanthropic porn addict." Palka describes the film to come out of fear, a fear of being "an inactive observer and opinionated commentator" and subsequent metamorphasis into "an active, courageous participant in my own artistic journey". Mainly because she has this unashamedly Scottish but slidingly American accent and a slightly odd face, Palka's words do not come across as pretentious or at all zany. If anything they help to cement my suspicion that her film is to be appreciated beyond the admonition, by herself, that it is "a modern fairytale". Good Dick seems quirky in that indie sort of way because of the soft focus and that darkened high-contrast in the cinematography, the twee soundtrack that kicks in half-way through the trailer when the characters desires are realised, and that 'controversial' title. But there is such a genuinely subtle nature to her story and her characters that it transcends fantasy and manages to strike a balance between social comment and something just so beautiful and unexpected it shrugs off the indie-edgyness. This may mainly be because of the blurred boundaries of the acting between Palka and Ritter, but rather than being self-indulgent, both maintain their modesty and their honesty about the films ethos.

The "unique courtship" of Good Dick's main characters came out of Palka's frustration with the myth of "the archetypal lover [that] is no longer associated with film." claiming "It's rare to see a male character who's actually loving." She says "I wanted to reintroduce the wonder of sexuality; the titillation of not seeing everything, the romance of a film about real people whose sexiness abounds because of their authenticity. These days sexuality has somehow become associated with all things false, and I think it’s a mirage." Ritter has said "I was pleasantly surprised by this bizarre story about these two characters that were unlike any characters I had ever met." Palka wants to reintroduce the courageousness and the chivalry back into love and the idea of love, and back into film, into writing, making, and distributing film. Suffice to say, the filmmakers are self-distributing.