I got to see this film at a special "Sundance" presentation in San Francisco last week. I would rate it a "6 out of 10."John Livingston, a poor-man's Ben Affleck, does a good job in the lead role of a San Francisco-based computer animator looking for Ms. Right. The screenplay was pretty good for a typical "guy searching for perfect mate" type of film.However, what ruined the film for me was lead actress, Sabrina Lloyd. She is one of the worst, and most annoying, actresses to be working anywhere. She has an irritating look and presentation.The movie would have been much better with any other lead actress. I do think both men and women would agree on this film since both lead characters are examined for both their flaws and good attributes.

Though the premise could've been enough to make Dopamine seem cold and heartless.. the "chemistry" between the romantic leads saved the day.. Sarah & Rand seemed wonderfully suited to one another. I thoroughly enjoyed this sweet film.. it was beautifully shot, the juxtaposition between the natural, human & computer worlds gave the premise a wonderful tableau to set upon.. I would've liked to have seen more of Rand's father and less of Rand's partners but otherwise, I thought this was a wonderful first from Decena and look forward to seeing what's next.

Chemistry or chemical ? Haven't you ever wondered why we connect with certain people or sometimes why we don't ? Dacena (apparently a first time director) and his team have done an amazing job telling a story about the question that moves us all ... where does love come from ? Dopamine tells us of the very real and emotional journey of its characters through smart dialog, humor and a unique story against a backdrop of the post-dot.com Bay Area (filmed with great shots that are not the typically canned footage of San Fran). A great film that knows the audience isn't stupid. I can't wait for the next work by this team.

I would tend to agree with creamygreen on the predictability and stock archetypes used to fulfill the writers premise. But the more interesting thing about this film is the premise itself. Can love be boiled down to just science? Can the build up of dopamine make me want to cuddle? Science is always struggling against the nature of human beings with such things as religion and human emotion. Such intangibles make the separation between what you feel and what you can prove the cornerstone of any good debate. The premise for this movie was a good one, it's the execution in the writing and scene development that fell apart. I would love to see the writer do something different with this premise and see whether or not it will draw all of us in. After all aren't we all familiar with something we just "know" but can't prove?