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 120 Seeds |  85 Peers |
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Users review: Greetings again from the darkness. Its tough and probably unfair to write about a film project when key pieces remain unseen. Writer/Director Ned Bensons brilliant first take on the story was released at Toronto Film Festival in two perspectives: Him and Her. A massive re-edit produced Them, this version released in theatres. As you might expect, knowledge that more exists ... and in probably a more effective story telling format ... renders us a bit frustrated with the blended version. Still, there is plenty here to warrant a look.This viewers frustration stems mostly from the long and winding road we travel understanding something tragic has caused the split between El (the titular Eleanor Rigby) and Conor. We are offered a brief glimpse of their happy times, but never get to know them as a happy couple. Instead, Conor is shown trying to re-assemble the pieces, while El tries to move on to a different puzzle altogether.While the story unfolds in teeth-grinding fashion, it doesnt offset the powerful emotion and personal intensity brought to the screen by both James McAvoy (Conor) and Jessica Chastain (El). Mr. McAvoy has quietly evolved into one of the more interesting actors working, while Ms. Chastain proves herself to be among the best each time she crawls inside a role and makes it her own. We feel for each of them, before we even really know them at all.Other superb work comes from a sterling supporting cast that includes screen vets William Hurt, Isabelle Huppert, Viola Davis and Ciaran Hinds; as well as Bill Hader, Jess Weixler and Nina Arianda. Thats seven characters (plus the two leads) of which we yearn to learn more. Ms. Davis is especially effective in her all too brief appearance as a professor cutting El very little slack. And Mr. Hurt delivers a terrific monologue that strikes a chord.So all of these wonderful pieces make for an spell-binding what-if that possibly gets answered in the dual-perspective version. The coldness and lack of understanding in the first 45 minutes cant offset the emotion and sadness that each character feels. Rumor has it that Him and Her will get their release this year, and if so, Ill be there in an attempt to complete both puzzles.
| Language: English Runtime: 122 min Audio: 5.1 Frame Rate: 25 fps Video Bitrate: 5228 Kb/sec Audio Bitrate: 320 kbps |
