Even when you observe the relationships in this movie
close up they are not what they appear to be on the surface. Margot a 28-year-old freelance travel writer
lives in a colorful cluttered house in the Little Portugal area in Toronto with
Lou her husband of 5 years. They are
very affectionate and loving towards each other, but have the odd tense moment when they are not on the same page so to speak and suddenly lose the ability
to communicate with each.
On a working trip to Louisbourg, Margot meets a Daniel
handsome stranger who is somewhat of a free spirit, and they end up being seated together on the plane home.
Then when they share a cab from the airport, they discover that they are
actually neighbors. By the time the cab
drops them off it’s obvious that there is a mutual attraction so Margot
promptly announces that she is married and flounces off with the intentions of
never seeing Daniel again.
It’s not that she is unhappily married to her very
considerate and loving husband, but the presence of this somewhat mysterious
and un-attached man across the street stirs something inside her. Something she finds hard to resist.
Lou is unaware of any of this, and as Margot and
Daniel have no idea about how or what can/should develop, we are also kept in suspense
for most of the movie as they try and work it out. What is intriguing (and very refreshing) is
that not one of the trio makes demands on the other and the choices that are
made are therefore not a result of ultimatums or any pressure, but just by them
being able to follow’s one’s instincts. Well, for two of them anyway.
In this her second feature writer/director Sarah
Polley has pulled together this extraordinary intimate ‘dance’ around this
relationship/s that had conflict and confusion without any melodrama in a
similar vein she did with her stunning debut ‘Away With Her’. She is a generous writer not just with the parts she wrote for the protagonists but all the supporting roles of the family
members that add some layers to this gentle comedy/drama.
Ms. Polley shares the credit in how this shaped out
into being such an enchanting bitter-sweet love story with her wonderful
cast. Michelle Williams who seems to be
the go-to actress for these subtle smart nuanced women (think ‘Wendy &
Lucy,’ ‘Meek’s Cutoff’, ‘Blue Valentine’ and ‘My Week With Marilyn’) and this could
even net her a 4th Best Actress Oscar nomination. Seth Rogan was a delightful surprise as Lou
showing that he is a great ‘straight’ actor too … as was fellow comedian Sarah
Silverman in her small but pivotal role of the alcoholic cousin who so acutely spot
in compared Margot’s behavior with her own. And Luke Kirby as handsome Daniel who has lost some hair and weight and really honed his acting since I saw him
last in the cute ‘gay’ comedy ‘Mambo Italiano’.
If I had any one crit. about this movie at all its that at 2
hours it was just a tad too long. It was
great of Ms Polley to let her characters develop and find the path they should
take, but they could have done it a wee bit quicker.
Unmissable, especially if you are Canadian as are Ms
Polley, Mr Rogan & Mr Kirby and the rather glorious settings of Toronto
and Louisbourg. As too is Leonard Cohen who’s haunting song (based on Fredrico
Garcia Lorca’s poem) that this movie is named for and which indeed plays throughout
a highly sensual scene.
★★★★★★★★★
★★★★★★★★★
