Review | I WeirDo movie review: OCD-themed Taiwanese romantic comedy a charming snapshot of the Covid-19 era
- He has OCD and she has sun allergy, meaning they don’t venture out unless clad head to toe in PPE. Their obsessions draw them together, though not too close
- Austin Lin and Nikki Hsieh start in Liao Ming-yi’s debut feature, shot on iPhones before the Covid-19 outbreak yet an ideal metaphor for strange times
4/5 stars
A romantic comedy for the Covid-19 era, I WeirDo is an unconventional love story about two lonely hearts who share an unhealthy aversion to the outside world. Shot on iPhones before the outbreak of the pandemic, Liao Ming-yi’s debut feature displays an uncanny prescience for our evolving attitudes towards public spaces, obsessive cleanliness, and physical intimacy.
Chen Po-ching (Austin Lin Po-hung) suffers from chronic obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), while Chen-ching (Nikki Hsieh Hsin-ying) has a serious sun allergy. Both conditions dictate that they rarely venture outdoors, except when clad head-to-toe in personal protective equipment.
Normally solitary, isolated individuals, their shared interests, obsessions and eccentricities quickly bring them together, and they spend their time daring each other to push the boundaries of their aversions, before eventually moving in together.