The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them
(B or 3/4 stars)
'The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them' (written/directed by Ned Benson) is a melancholy film about love, grief, and the pursuit of finding one's self again in the wake of a tragedy. Unfolding like a languid poem, this film is short on plot, long on characterization, is superbly acted, but is more intent on creating a sorrowful mood than actually breaking your heart - at least, that's how I feel about it. The movie opens by showing us a happy couple in a restaurant; eluding the owners when they can't pay the bill. It's a feverishly romantic moment. But in the very next scene ... there's an attempted suicide by the female in said couple. For the rest of the proceedings, we see these two (beautifully played by Jessica Chastain & James McAvoy) unhappily separated, & dangling on the edge of a proverbial precipice.
Along with our lead characters, we also meet their small circle of family & friends who struggle to make eye contact or even chat with a couple that has split up for reasons that only become clear about 1/3 into the story. Eleanor grew up named after the Beatles song, Eleanor Rigby. She shrugs that off as an impulse of her parents (Isabelle Huppert, William Hurt). She survives her suicide attempt but, as far as husband Conor is concerned, she has all but ... disappeared. He can't locate her. Once found, she appears to be a shell of her old self -- a hologram. Her cell phone is shut off. And her family won't let him contact her. As for Conor, he is a failing restaurateur with a bit of a temper; brawling with customers ... even having a go with his chef-pal Stuart (Bill Hader) in their kitchen. Furthermore, he struggles to co-exist with his chronically depressed restaurateur-father (Ciaran Hinds, who says at one point, "You shouldn't be interested in regretting things").
We watch Conor's half-assed efforts to move on; hoping for a reunion with Eleanor, but taking 1 step forward-2 steps back. Focusing back on Eleanor, no one seems to know how to handle her; her professor father even says, "None of us knows how to help you". We see Eleanor's eclectic French mother, wine glass ALWAYS in hand, contemplate why she even had children. Alllll of these people are sad, confused "drips" {for one reason or another}. Eager to forget her recent past, Eleanor goes back to college where her world-weary philosophy professor (Viola Davis) can't offer advice to Eleanor because she can't crack the code of what's going on inside her pupil's head. And it is only in flashbacks where we start to piece together how Eleanor & Conor got to where they're at (emphatic love affair-to-crippling states of existence). There's a small window of hope for Eleanor & Conor at the end of the film, but that's like getting a crumb from a hero roll.
As I mentioned in the 1st few sentences, this film is wonderfully performed, yet verges on being too dreary; too somber. Grief & romantic hiatus has never been more depressingly captured. The film is also a bit narratively warped. But I think the main reason for THAT is because studio head Harvey Weinstein elected to take 2 versions of this movie (titled "Him" & "Her") equaling about 200 minutes in length, and distilling it into 1 "Them" version that runs 120 minutes in length. 200 minutes is a lonnnnnng time. But the 80 missing minutes definitely explains the sense of "Am I missing something, here?". I look forward to seeing the individual Him & Her versions because a) they each show the same movie but from differing points of view of the main characters -- that's interesting! And b) because the truncated story in this "Them" version manages to be sad (with a capital S) without ever gutting me emotionally; as I'm sure it was aiming to do.
That's no fault of the actors; they are excellent. We revel in Chastain's Eleanor when she's a luminous, carefree woman in love with Conor, and we believe her when she's in a crippled state of misery some years later. The real disappearance of Eleanor Rigby is that of her personality; which was all but erased by sadness. She's desperate to 'find herself' again, with or without Conor. McAvoy is also great; showing the puppy dog love he had with Eleanor long ago, and also exhibiting the frustrated, angsty, "I'm stuck!" mode he's in after Eleanor's suicide attempt -- he doesn't know a way back to her. The supporting actors nail their roles, as well. I also liked the lovely, moody cinematography; capturing NYC in all of its haunting beauty & ugliness. No, my issues with the film include the script (the source of Eleanor/Conor's grief is a bit of a cliche, some of the dialogue is iffy), as well as the hacking of this movie from 2 individual pieces into one 120 minute feature.
I would say that if you're into languorous, moody character studies that wallow in misery, then 'The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them' could be for you. I, myself, appreciate the performances. I admire a running motif of beautiful but short-lived fireflies; serving as a metaphor for several plot components. And I liked how the movie shows how the ripple effects of a tragedy doesn't just effect our main couple, but also the circle of family & friends who loves both of them. Still, I look much more forward to the individual Him & Her films now because they may give more shape & heft to the narrative at hand.
Along with our lead characters, we also meet their small circle of family & friends who struggle to make eye contact or even chat with a couple that has split up for reasons that only become clear about 1/3 into the story. Eleanor grew up named after the Beatles song, Eleanor Rigby. She shrugs that off as an impulse of her parents (Isabelle Huppert, William Hurt). She survives her suicide attempt but, as far as husband Conor is concerned, she has all but ... disappeared. He can't locate her. Once found, she appears to be a shell of her old self -- a hologram. Her cell phone is shut off. And her family won't let him contact her. As for Conor, he is a failing restaurateur with a bit of a temper; brawling with customers ... even having a go with his chef-pal Stuart (Bill Hader) in their kitchen. Furthermore, he struggles to co-exist with his chronically depressed restaurateur-father (Ciaran Hinds, who says at one point, "You shouldn't be interested in regretting things").
We watch Conor's half-assed efforts to move on; hoping for a reunion with Eleanor, but taking 1 step forward-2 steps back. Focusing back on Eleanor, no one seems to know how to handle her; her professor father even says, "None of us knows how to help you". We see Eleanor's eclectic French mother, wine glass ALWAYS in hand, contemplate why she even had children. Alllll of these people are sad, confused "drips" {for one reason or another}. Eager to forget her recent past, Eleanor goes back to college where her world-weary philosophy professor (Viola Davis) can't offer advice to Eleanor because she can't crack the code of what's going on inside her pupil's head. And it is only in flashbacks where we start to piece together how Eleanor & Conor got to where they're at (emphatic love affair-to-crippling states of existence). There's a small window of hope for Eleanor & Conor at the end of the film, but that's like getting a crumb from a hero roll.
As I mentioned in the 1st few sentences, this film is wonderfully performed, yet verges on being too dreary; too somber. Grief & romantic hiatus has never been more depressingly captured. The film is also a bit narratively warped. But I think the main reason for THAT is because studio head Harvey Weinstein elected to take 2 versions of this movie (titled "Him" & "Her") equaling about 200 minutes in length, and distilling it into 1 "Them" version that runs 120 minutes in length. 200 minutes is a lonnnnnng time. But the 80 missing minutes definitely explains the sense of "Am I missing something, here?". I look forward to seeing the individual Him & Her versions because a) they each show the same movie but from differing points of view of the main characters -- that's interesting! And b) because the truncated story in this "Them" version manages to be sad (with a capital S) without ever gutting me emotionally; as I'm sure it was aiming to do.
That's no fault of the actors; they are excellent. We revel in Chastain's Eleanor when she's a luminous, carefree woman in love with Conor, and we believe her when she's in a crippled state of misery some years later. The real disappearance of Eleanor Rigby is that of her personality; which was all but erased by sadness. She's desperate to 'find herself' again, with or without Conor. McAvoy is also great; showing the puppy dog love he had with Eleanor long ago, and also exhibiting the frustrated, angsty, "I'm stuck!" mode he's in after Eleanor's suicide attempt -- he doesn't know a way back to her. The supporting actors nail their roles, as well. I also liked the lovely, moody cinematography; capturing NYC in all of its haunting beauty & ugliness. No, my issues with the film include the script (the source of Eleanor/Conor's grief is a bit of a cliche, some of the dialogue is iffy), as well as the hacking of this movie from 2 individual pieces into one 120 minute feature.
I would say that if you're into languorous, moody character studies that wallow in misery, then 'The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them' could be for you. I, myself, appreciate the performances. I admire a running motif of beautiful but short-lived fireflies; serving as a metaphor for several plot components. And I liked how the movie shows how the ripple effects of a tragedy doesn't just effect our main couple, but also the circle of family & friends who loves both of them. Still, I look much more forward to the individual Him & Her films now because they may give more shape & heft to the narrative at hand.