Take This Waltz
Rating:
Cast: Michelle Williams, Seth Rogen, Luke Kirby, Sarah
Silverman
Director: Sarah Polley
The second film from Sarah Polley is an indie looking at the nature of young love.
Michelle Williams stars as Margot, a writer who lives with her husband of five years, Lou (Seth Rogen in a rare dramatic turn).
One day, when out on a writing job, she encounters Luke Kirby's Daniel, with whom she begins a playful flirtation which ends abruptly as it spirals dangerously close to coming to fruition.
However, Margot's shocked to discover that Daniel lives across from them - and yet, continues to find herself drawn to him....initially, in accidental meetings and then more deliberate meetings, the pair begin to fall for each other and the tensions begin to build.
There are parts of Take This Waltz which I really loved and other parts which made me want to shout at the screen in abject frustration.
Firstly, Sarah Polley's direction of this film is
assuredly strong as she crafts together some very striking and
sensual visuals throughout. One sequence at the end which is a
continually rotating shot of two of the cast building a life
together is breathtakingly original and cleverly executed.
Secondly, Michelle Williams gives a great turn as Margot - even if I was extremely frustrated and unsure of her motivations and the reasons for her actions.
So much is unsaid in this film that, despite an impressive performance from Williams, it's incredibly hard to either empathise or engage with her and her apparent frustration with Lou, a nice guy who seems to care for his wife and is doing the best for them.
All in all, Take This Waltz is a frustrating experience: sure, it's about real people and the real issues they face, but thanks to a lack of real depth of development, you don't quite care enough about what unfolds on the screen - no matter how well put together it is.