Singaporean films have generally been categorised into either one of two things: presumptuous artsy fare from the likes of Eric Khoo and enfant terrible Royston Tan, or smack-in-your-face commercial blockbusters by the likes of Jack Neo.

Carrot Cake Conversations falls into the former, but doesn’t quite manage to walk across the thin tightrope strung between a great movie and the more usual unfortunate accident of a film in this category, even though it has been picked for the 8th Annual Anchorage Film Festival in December.

The story revolves around 4 strangers – 3 Singaporeans and an American – who find themselves ruminating upon their lives on the “eve of Christmas eve” and finding companionship over carrot cake and conversation.

The movie follows Kate (Danielle O’Malley), a former aspiring actress who called it quits after 7 years in Hollywood with not much more than a 5-minute part to her name. That this precious footage was subsequently cut off from the movie only added insult to injury.

On her way to New Zealand to start a café, she transits in Singapore for a few hours. Wanting to explore the island with the time she has left, she randomly chooses her first destination – the famous Newton Hawker Centre.

There, she meets Daniel (Alaric Tay), a tired businessman who walked in on his wife cheating on his brother. After talking over carrot cake, Kate makes a proposition that sets Daniel thinking.

Matthew (Adrian Pang) is a rich property heir who’s experiencing a personal crisis. He meets Ruth (former Miss Malaysia Andrea Fonseka), a $100-an-hour prostitute who harbours dreams of becoming a blues singer, for companionship.

Somehow, Kate’s and Matthew’s paths connect and they strike up a friendship.

The topics of their conversations, mostly over local fare such as carrot cake and tau huei chui (soya bean milk), range from the mundane to the ambitiously philosophical. After the conversations, they gain different perspectives and get to reflecting upon their own lives.

The first thing that is noticeable about the movie is its painfully liberal use of medium close-up, shallow depth-of-field shots. There is hardly a scene in full focus and almost no experimentation with using different styles of cinematography.

The screenplay tries hard to impress, but comes across as awkward and pretentious. For starters, the conversations between the characters is amusingly contrived – none of it sounds remotely Singaporean.

And if you’re expecting to find suspense, build-up, action and climax, ditch your hopes now. The drama moves along at a leisurely pace before coming to an uninspiring end.

Crossover actor and host Pang and supporting actress de Cruz were the highlights of the movie. Their acting was consistently impeccable, beautifully nuanced and human – a welcome respite from the mechanical, albeit commendable, acting of the rest of the cast.  O’Malley comes across more Australian than American, and Fonseka doesn’t manage to sound Singaporean in the slightest. Tay manages to play his part of Daniel well, but, for some reason, seems inhibited.

Another pleasant aspect of the movie is its music, which is inspiring, serene and beautiful. More importantly, it perfectly fits the tone of the film.

In short, director Michael Wang’s debut feature is an ambitious effort but it sorely failed to impress.

The UrbanWire gives Carrot Cake Conversations 2 out of 5 stars.


Movie details
Release date: Nov 6
Running Time: 98 min
Language: English
Rating: PG
Genre: Drama
Starring: Adrian Pang, Alaric Tay, Andrea Fonseka, Danielle O’Malley
Directed by: Michael Wang