Story
In Alex & Eve, Alex (Richard Brancatisano) is a maths teacher at a high school in Sydney. He lives with his immigrant parents, George (Tony Nikolakopoulos) and Chloe (Zoe Carides), who are devoutly Greek orthodox. Alex is a confirmed bachelor. One night his best mate, Paul (Ryan O’Kane), sets Alex up on a blind date with Eve (Andrea Demetriades). Eve is a lawyer and works with Paul’s girlfriend, Clare (Millie Samuels), at a law firm.
Alex and Eve are instantly attracted to each other but there is a huge obstacle to overcome – Eve is a Lebanese Muslim. Eve tries talking to her parents, Bassam (Simon Elrahi) and Salwa (Helen Chebatte), about Alex but they’re both opposed to the relationship. They’ve already promised Eve to a nice Muslim boy, Mohomad (Hazem Shammas), and are determined that this match will go ahead. Alex and Eve have different ideas but they can’t persuade either set of parents.
Themes
Religious intolerance; cultural divides; multiculturalism
Violence
There is some violence in Alex & Eve. For example:
- Characters slap each other occasionally.
- Salwa gets very angry and shouts at Eve. George also shouts angrily at Alex. Salwa and George argue loudly. George and Salwa swear at each other in their own languages.
- Alex hits a gym instructor with a ball.
Sexual references
Alex & Eve has quite a lot of sexual references. For example:
- Alex’s students think he’s gay because he doesn’t have a girlfriend.
- One of Alex’s male students tells him he should go to a brothel where he can get a girl for $180.
- A character describes a man as having a penis ‘as big as his ego’.
- Salwa accuses Eve of having sex with Alex.
- Shadi asks, ‘Who’s been popping my sister?’
- George comes into the lounge and sees Alex leaning over Eve on the sofa and says it looks as if they are having sex.
- George says that Australian girls are ‘easy’.
Alcohol, drugs and other substances
Alex & Eve shows some use of substances. For example, characters drink at several events, and in bars, restaurants and homes.
Nudity and sexual activity
Alex & Eve shows some nudity and sexual activity. For example:
- Paul and Clare often kiss passionately.
- Clare opens her dressing gown (she’s shown from behind) and says to Paul, ‘If you want to see these again you know what to do’.
- Paul and Clare are shown in bed together. Clare is in her underwear. He’s reading the Kama Sutra and she asks him if they are just friends who have sex together.
- Men at a gym are shown taking showers – they are seen nude from the back.
- Alex and Eve kiss passionately and undress each other. Sex is implied but not shown. They fall asleep in each other’s arms.
Product placement
Nothing of concern
Coarse language
Alex & Eve has quite a lot of coarse language.
Ideas to discuss with your children
Alex & Eve is a romantic comedy about a couple from different cultures and religions who are forbidden by their parents to see each other. This dilemma causes a lot of emotion and also some laughs.
The movie deals very well with this current and sensitive topic, but its coarse language and sexual references make it more suitable for a mature audience. We don’t recommend it for children under 15 years.
The main messages from this movie are that love can overcome all obstacles. The movie suggests that it’s better to look for the things that different cultures have in common than the things that separate them.
Values in this movie that you could reinforce with your children include tolerance, multiculturalism and the importance of family.
Alex & Eve could also give you the chance to talk with your children about real-life issues like the way that hatred brings only discord and unhappiness. You could also talk about the way that you need to work through your prejudices to live peacefully with your neighbours.