This is the second feature
from actress/writer/director Sarah Polley, whose Away from Her was an affecting of a man watching his wife’s memory drift away due to
Alzheimer’s. Polley brings an equal degree of emotional authenticity to this, the story of a much younger wife (Michelle Williams) and her romantic friendship with another man (Luke Kirby). In fact, I sort of felt embarrassed watching the in which Williams and Seth Rogen, as the unwitting husband, engage in a game in which each describes elaborate ways of killing the other. It was like overhearing a couple using pet names and baby talk to each other, though weirder. So, the marriage is not a bad one, but the other man beckons as a diversion.
Though we wonder whether this new relationship will be consummated (other than through a very erotic, talk-only seduction), the subject is not infidelity as such. It’s more like, is happiness a matter of
perception or reality? Do we make ourselves unhappy by imagining the unattainable? It’s a different take on the subject than, say, Unfaithful. However, it’s also painfully stagnant and sometimes redundant. (The imaginary-killing game described above recurs in several scenes.) Sarah Silverman’s perhaps surprising appearance as an
alcoholic relative
brings, at first, welcome comic relief. Later, she’s featured in a
cut-through-the-bullshit scene that quickly sums up what’s played out,
very slowly, over the previous 90 minutes. Michelle Williams’s very fine performance is also to be recommended. Nonetheless, as someone who usually has patience for stories that are slow to develop, I found this honest, but honestly dull.
viewed 6/26/12 7:30 pm at Ritz 5 [PFS screening] and reviewed 7/30/12
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