I have become a Sarah Polley fan, actually have been one for a while. So in a movie like this I don't so much try to 'rate' it but to understand what she is trying to say and appreciate it.
Filmed in Polley's home country Canada, Michelle Williams is Margot, married for almost 5 years. When we see her interact with her husband I am struck by how child-like she is. They make silly faces at each other, say stupid things, but never really talk about anything of substance. It is this immaturity which is the subject of this character study.
I rarely like Seth Rogen but here is is very good in what for him is a serious role. He is Margot's husband Lou, and he is in the process of perfecting recipes to write his chicken cookbook. They seem to love each other very much, but at times he doesn't understand Margot's moodiness.
One day Margot is traveling back home from a trip and quite by accident is seated in the same row as Luke Kirby, an artist and rickshaw operator, Daniel. They share a cab and find out they live virtually across the street from each other. That isn't necessarily a problem but Margot finds herself attracted to Daniel.
So the story combines two familiar themes, how random incidents can have great influences on our lives, and how a person can (or not) resist strong temptation that they know they should. For most of the movie's running time we see Margot and Daniel finding ways to be at the same place without actually conspiring to 'see' each other. Daniel we feel is very willing, he is single and carefree, but he also respects that Margot has a husband.
All in all a very well crafted and acted story, where not everything makes everyone happy at the end.
SPOILERS follow: Towards the end, after Daniel actually attends a party of sorts at their house, Margot awakens the next day to see him in a truck leaving, he is moving away. He left her a picture card of the lighthouse they were supposed to meet at on a certain date 40 years in the future. Not knowing what to do, she walks to the shore of the lake, he finds her there, she can no longer resist her urges, she leaves Lou and has a torrid romantic and sexual relationship with Daniel, as they occupy a new place. Lou finishes his cookbook, it is a success, and he seems to be doing fine when she shows up some time later. It appears that she has remorse for leaving Lou, and knows she will probably never find a man as good. But Lou has moved on, he tells her "Some things you do in life, they stick". Meaning he could never see Margot the same way he saw her before. Margot is growing up the hard way.
Filmed in Polley's home country Canada, Michelle Williams is Margot, married for almost 5 years. When we see her interact with her husband I am struck by how child-like she is. They make silly faces at each other, say stupid things, but never really talk about anything of substance. It is this immaturity which is the subject of this character study.
I rarely like Seth Rogen but here is is very good in what for him is a serious role. He is Margot's husband Lou, and he is in the process of perfecting recipes to write his chicken cookbook. They seem to love each other very much, but at times he doesn't understand Margot's moodiness.
One day Margot is traveling back home from a trip and quite by accident is seated in the same row as Luke Kirby, an artist and rickshaw operator, Daniel. They share a cab and find out they live virtually across the street from each other. That isn't necessarily a problem but Margot finds herself attracted to Daniel.
So the story combines two familiar themes, how random incidents can have great influences on our lives, and how a person can (or not) resist strong temptation that they know they should. For most of the movie's running time we see Margot and Daniel finding ways to be at the same place without actually conspiring to 'see' each other. Daniel we feel is very willing, he is single and carefree, but he also respects that Margot has a husband.
All in all a very well crafted and acted story, where not everything makes everyone happy at the end.
SPOILERS follow: Towards the end, after Daniel actually attends a party of sorts at their house, Margot awakens the next day to see him in a truck leaving, he is moving away. He left her a picture card of the lighthouse they were supposed to meet at on a certain date 40 years in the future. Not knowing what to do, she walks to the shore of the lake, he finds her there, she can no longer resist her urges, she leaves Lou and has a torrid romantic and sexual relationship with Daniel, as they occupy a new place. Lou finishes his cookbook, it is a success, and he seems to be doing fine when she shows up some time later. It appears that she has remorse for leaving Lou, and knows she will probably never find a man as good. But Lou has moved on, he tells her "Some things you do in life, they stick". Meaning he could never see Margot the same way he saw her before. Margot is growing up the hard way.