10 December 2014

#WTW Glance: The One I Love

#WhatThomWatched Glance*:
The One I Love 
(Charlie McDowell, 2014; Streaming/Also available on disc from Anchor Bay)


Recommended for: Couples, especially those who have been together a while, who are willing to watch a little indie romance film . . . .


This perceptive relationship study is truly worth committing to without a lot of foreknowledge. Mumblecore director Mark Duplass and Mad Men breakout Elisabeth Moss are an unhappy married couple seeking help from a counselor who sends them on a therapeutic romantic weekend at a gorgeous remote property. Their getaway turns out to have a single unnatural element which reveals details about them, their relationship, how they view each other, and how they view themselves. It’s the first full-length feature from both director McDowell and writer Justin Lader, who are clearly two to keep an eye on.




Reminds me of:
Zoe Kazan’s (slightly) bigger-budget Ruby Sparks (from 2012) also has a magical conceit; it might be a bit better at presenting the woman’s perspective (and is also worth checking out).


But also — the guilt!
My mumblecore surface is woefully unscratched. I flipped for Frances Ha (2012), but am otherwise a mumblephyte; I could do worse than seek out the Duplass Brothers’ seminal The Puffy Chair (2005), Baghead (2008) and Cyrus (2010). (The trouble is that every time I decide to screen one of these, I wind up just sitting alone in a dark room feeling inadequate and staring at a blank wall through my bangs.)


Pitch
A scene with Moss and a shared bottle of wine is chillingly good — she’s just an incredible actor.


*For movies and shows which are current -- in theaters or streaming -- I'm posting a short, less-spoilery take on #WhatThomWatched (and generally only when something really strikes me as worth passing on). These shorter essays are labeled Glance.

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