Thursday, May 31, 2012

Take This Waltz


Sarah Polley’s Take This Waltz is a simple film about a complicated woman struggling through a messy love triangle. It’s straightforward, smart, and, much like Polley’s first film, Away From Her, completely authentic.

The woman in question is Margot, played expertly by Michelle Williams, an actress who, at this point, has no idea how to deliver a less-than-stellar performance. Margot is a woman of many fears, paranoias and eccentricities, and while none of this is presented outwardly (Williams’ performance is, for the most part, pleasantly restrained), we’re witness to Margot being told more than once that she behaves like a child. Baby voices, using the word “gay” as a substitute for “stupid,” comic ploys for attention – things like that. 



I mention this because the way Margot acts is a lot of what Take This Waltz is about. Her behaviors appear to slowly be wearing her marriage to Lou (Seth Rogen) thin. Lou is a nice guy, he cooks, cleans, hosts – but he does it all based around whatever mood his wife happens to be in at any given minute. She’s happy, she’s sad, she’s sexual, she’s reserved. For five years, we get the sense that Lou has done whatever he can to keep up, but when we meet him, things have gotten old.

Enter Daniel (Luke Kirby, so good in HBO’s short lived Tell Me You Love Me), Margot and Lou’s handsome, single neighbor who takes a shine to Margot the second they meet. Daniel is the type of guy who always says the right thing. He’s smart, charming, assuming, and full of masculinity. He ignites a curiosity in Margot that hasn’t been lit in years.
Thankfully for us, Polley is too smart and unusual to have her film play out like a melodramatic soap opera. Yes, Margot is plagued with thoughts of leaving her husband for Daniel, but because Margot is so perfectly written, we’re never quite sure what she’s thinking, let alone how she is going to respond to lingering moments of temptation.

Now a question: Can the final minutes of a movie completely ruin what you’ve seen before? To be clear (and spoiler free), Take This Waltz is real. It doesn’t shy away from the frankness and pain that many relationships carry with them. And it also isn’t afraid to unveil the mind of the married woman. There is a scene in this film in which Margot, Lou’s sister Geraldine (Sarah Silverman) and another one of their friends are showering at the gym. They talk about their marriages, their hairy legs, and their need for misdeed, and they do it completely naked. Now, during their conversation, Polley ingeniously, continually, cuts to the other end of the shower, in which three older women, also naked, are bathing.  What Polley is saying, with her camerawork, editing, and then script, is that new things get old, too. It is a remarkable scene of fearlessness for everyone involved, one of many scenes that should make the picture great.

Should.
Polley on the set of Take This Waltz
Truth is, Take This Waltz has a perfect stopping place. Stories are resolved, the film fades to black, and the credits should start to roll. Instead, Polley keeps going, in what has to be some of the most superfluous, unnecessary filmmaking stuck in a very good film to come along in a great while. The closing scenes begin with an extended sequence in which a camera circles a giant living room in the vein of Charles Foster Kane’s kitchen. It keeps going. And going. And going. Once that scene is done, the movie just… doesn’t, fucking, end. I sat stupefied by what I was seeing and how blatantly needless it all was.

Had Take This Waltz rolled the credits a little earlier, I’d go as far as to say that it’d be a contender for one of the better films of 2012, but it’s final minutes drag it down to the point of bafflement. The film isn’t ruined, it’s just laughed at and forgotten. B-

26 comments:

  1. Any movie with Michelle Williams means I'll have to see it! Feels like nearly every movie I've watched lately is 10 minutes too long, it's a shame that the final sequence ruins this one.

    Have to wait another two weeks for this one in Aus, maybe I'll just walk out before that final sequence!

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    1. Haha honestly, it wouldn't be a bad idea! You can catch the flick on iTunes right now... that's how I watched it last night.

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  2. I have seen 2 mildly negative reviews of this - you and your doppelganger Andy - both complaining about it dragging in the end. But I love both Sarah Polley and Michelle Williams. So, I think I will still watch it. Nothing Deal-Breaking right ?

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    1. Just read Andy's, couldn't agree more. It really is a good film and if it wasn't for its last 15 minutes, I would've given it an A. (sigh) Oh well.

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  3. I heard the same thing about the ending. That's a bummer, because I was really hoping this would be a *good* one. Still going to watch it, of course. But worth the $10 rental? In the age of Netflix and Redbox, 10 bucks seems... much.

    I love your love for Michelle Williams. I couldn't agree more. She has certainly come a long way, hasn't she?

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    1. Williams has come so far, it's just crazy. I've read several interviews with her and I honestly think the depth of her work is rooted in all the pain she's suffered. Whatever it is, I really think she's one of the best actors of hers or any generation that is currently working in film.

      But yeah, Take This Waltz can wait. I doubt it has much of a life in theaters, so it should be out on Netflix/Redbox within a few months. Very fine film, very faulty final moments.

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  4. Good review, I've been waiting to see this movie at some point soon. Hope the ending isn't too bad... Michelle Williams has got to be one of the top five actresses out there right now.

    Also side note- What did you use to create the category tabs under your Home banner. I've tried making them with a few different programs and was not not totally pleased with the results. If you could lead to what ever you used that would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

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    1. Definitely see the movie, because I really do think there is greatness in it. Hopefully you won't be as put off by the ending as I was.

      The tabs at the top of my blog are as easy as creating new "pages" on our blogger page (this site is run off blogger). I was shocked by how easy it was, just a standard blogger add-on. Let me know if you need more detailed help!

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  5. great review, i really want to see this! michelle williams is just brilliant!
    shame about the ending though! :)

    http://musicfilmsect.blogspot.co.uk/

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    1. Thanks! If you like her, the movie may work for you. Maybe.

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  6. Wow you really hated that ending! I couldn't really make my mind up what to rate Take This Waltz, has cute moments in a Blue Valentine kind of way, but is also overlong and sometimes tedious. M Williams is adorable, though.

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    1. Couldn't agree more with everything you said, and I love your Blue Valentine reference. Definitely overlong. Shame shame shame.

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  7. Fantastic review! I love Polley and Williams so I can't wait to see this one. I'm gonna try to catch it by the end of June.

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    1. Nice, I'll be really interested to hear your thoughts!

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  8. Good review, man. I also had reservations about the ending at first, and quite frankly I was shocked when it kept going after what you said was a perfect stopping point. It would have made sense to end there, but it seemed Polley wanted to bring everything back full circle. It took me some time to adjust to the sudden change, but the more I think about it, the more I really like the ending. Polley nailed the fact that everything new becomes old (as Williams' character finally realizes), and I can't think of a more accurate portrayal of the type of love triangle the three leads are going through. This movie really left a mark on me.

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    1. I've heard a few people with similar opinions as yours about the ending, and I can definitely see your point. The notion of coming full circle is what I think Polley was going for, but it just Felt. Too. Long.

      I really hope I end up liking the movie as much as you did. Either way, great acting for sure.

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  9. Great review Alex, as usual! I really like Michelle Williams and you are right, she is wonderful in any part! I am very interested in it, I might just use my iTunes voucher for this film...we'll see!

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    1. That's what I did! Well worth it for sure. I've harped a little too much on the ending in the comments section here, but I really do think this is a film people should see. Williams is incredible in it.

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  10. Really? Everyone hated the ending? Personally, I think it rounded out the film, the themes, and set it apart from every other romance/breakup movie ever made...

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    1. I didn't hate the ending, it just felt so... added and out of place. I think the movie itself was unlike any breakup movie ever made, but that ending, ah, I just can't seem to appreciate it.

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  11. I love this movie! Yes, slow at times but I loved the way it was filmed. Refreshing. I also loved the scene where the apartment (loft) was spun into it's maturity. Everything new gets old.
    One big aha though, in the beginning of the movie after the kitchen scene she is shown sitting alone with a suitcase on the bed in a hotel, in a blue floral dress.
    Forward to the very last scene on the ride, she is wearing the same blue dress. I believe the hotel room scene was to show us her departure from the relationship.
    Thoughts anyone?

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    1. That is a very very interesting observation, one that I did not notice and actually makes me want to revisit the film entirely. You could very well be right. Thanks for commenting!

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    2. I did not notice this but I too thought that the ending, which everyone is saying is too long and drawn out, was purposefully done to demonstrate that Margot is in the exact same position as in the beginning of the movie, i.e. lost in herself and her emotions. To me, when she was riding alone at the end of the movie, it was symbolic of her need to be alone and perhaps figure out her own happiness before thinking someone else can make her happy (although I didn't catch the dress / hotel scene).

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    3. Hi Ericka, thanks for stopping by and commenting. To be clear, I really love the final scene of the movie; I think it perfectly encapsulates Margot's self-imposed isolation. But the 360 sex, the car crash - I just could've done without all that. Just my opinion though.

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  12. Thoughtful review, Alex.

    I'm going to buck the trend here though by being harder on the film than others on this page. Thematically and structurally (both in terms of storytelling and how I imagine this sort of love triangle would unravel) I thought Polley did an amazing job. And what more can you say about Michelle Williams. I have such a crush on her it's not even funny. Even Seth Rogen played his role well.

    My main issue with the film is with it's tone - what most critics are raving about. Yes, it feels naturalistic, but too much so in my opinion. Polley and the actors seem to be forcing this 'natural' way interacting to the point that it feels artificial to me (it's sort of like what people say about Vancouver: people try so hard to be laid back that they're tight-assed about it) The lovey dovey scenes between Lou and Margot are a perfect example. I simply didn't buy it. Like when he's on the phone with his publisher. I've been in that situation as an artist speaking on the phone to the gatekeeper and believe me you don't sit in your living room trying to talk while your wife's fingers are in your mouth.

    My next issue is with Polley's filmmaking aesthetic. She can't seem to make up her mind as to what kind of filmmaker she wants to be. I'm not saying a pastiche approach can't work, but I did find it jarring to go from the cinema verite approach, to the heavy-handed esoteric Egoyanesque conversations (ie. the being in the middle conversations), and then to scenes with stylized camera work (ie. the spinning loft or Margot lying on her bed as the sun goes down). Personally, I prefer a filmmaker to find his or her aesthetic and stick with it. See Wes Anderson's Moonrise Sunset as an example. In the first 5 minutes you're taken aback by the oddness of the world he's created but he sticks so doggedly to it that you forget the artifice (somewhat) and just enter the story. In Take this Waltz, I felt Polley's directorial hand in almost every scene and it took me away from the story and the great acting.

    Finally, and I don't blame Polley for this because of the need to show Canadian funders that a film is Canadian enough, but I found the blatant attempts at showing Canadian and Toronto icons unnerving. Did they have to be eating poutine after coming back from the Beaches on College Street?

    Oh, one more thing - what was with Luke Kirby's character always living in the coolest lofts. First, the guy's a rickshaw driver in these super-cool lofts near Trinity Bellwoods. Second, and this is a repeat, it just doesn't ring true - most people in Toronto live in generic, cramped spaces.

    OK, let the fiery rebuttals begin.

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    1. A voice of reason, right here. Your specific mention of “being on the phone with the gatekeeper” is spot on. I’ve made those calls too, and I’ll tell you, if my girlfriend at the time had been shoving her fingers down my mouth at an attempt at humor, I would’ve flipped. I didn’t buy that scene for one second. Great call there.

      Interesting observations about Polley’s multi-directing style. That’s something I didn’t take issue with on a conscious level, but subconsciously, it could be the main reason I felt the movie was off. You articulated that point flawlessly.

      Seems like you may be Canadian and even from Toronto, so you’re definitely more inclined to speak about the inaccuracies of the structuring than I. But I will certainly take your word for it.

      Three things: 1.) thanks for leaving such an insightful comment, 2.) don’t worry about people being fiery here, I make an effort to keep things constructive in my comments section, 3.) Who. Are. You? You sound like a movie buff I want to know!

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