Take This Waltz proves why marriage and multiple partners should not be mutually exclusive. Michelle Williams (Brokeback Mountain; My Week with Marilyn) stars as Margot, a tragic woman who might remind others too much of themselves to judge. As has often been said about her, Williams disappears into her roles and does so equally in her public life. She tends to be more solemn but no less commanding than domineering roles often associated with Meryl Streep, Joan Crawford, Bette Davis and Katherine Hepburn. As audiences, how do we reset our dial of fierce female roles to reflect the changing balance between a generation of millennial men and women whose off-screen relationships bear more resemblance to melancholic films like Greenberg, Cyrus or this year's Safety Not Guaranteed?
In the movie, Margot meets rickshaw driver Daniel (Luke Kirby, who played gay in Mambo Italiano) while on a trip to Nova Scotia to rewrite the official pamphlets for historic Fort Anne/Port-Royal. Daniel challenges Margot's idiosyncrasies and dares to draw out a side of her she may have put away after eight years of marriage to Lou Rubin (Seth Rogen), a cookbook author who exclusively writes about chicken. Once they return to their quaint neighborhood in Toronto, what starts as a romantic comedy quickly spirals into a psychological drama about the fragility of heterosexual monogamy.
This film triggers many assumptions about the endurance of marriage and the expiration date on fidelity in ways that make the movement toward gay marriage equality look like a symbolic battle for the recognition of marriage rather than legal contract—not to be entered into lightly. It's a right many straight millennials are passing up because they simply don't need it.
Comedian Sara Silverman is brilliant here as Geraldine, Margot's recovering alcoholic Jewish sister-in-law who openly rejects tradition while following it every step of the way—until she cracks under the weight of it all.
Oscar-nominated writer/director Sarah Polley (Away From Her) has an acute vision of life as we know it, yet her skillful handling of comedic moments errs when she tries to recreate a "When Harry Met Sally" moment. For example, Margo bemoans seeing husband Lou donning a goofy chef's hat on the cover of his latest chicken cookbook.
I like Rogan's attempt at a more serious role, which was a bold but justified casting choice. He deserves praise for being a very likable and ultimately pitiable contender for Margot's affection. Daniel is intentionally more attractive because he's fit, active and an artist, but Margot wants to be with both men for different reasons. Her emotional affair with Daniel is not a replacement for the one she has with Lou, but it would be better off in addition to her relationship with her husband, a point I think Polley missed here.
What if Margot's relationship with Daniel could have revived Margot's stagnant marriage and deepened her love for her husband instead of breaking all ties? Instead Polley portrays a tragic girl whose every relationship will end up unraveling unless she looks for an occupation besides wallowing in her own misery. Nevertheless, this movie will stick with me. Take this Waltz opens Friday, July 6, from Magnolia Pictures.
Previews
For the Spider-Man franchise reboot, Sony and Marvel cast another brown-haired young gent of the moment, Andrew Garfield, as the web-slinger and Emma Stone (The Help) as Gwen Stacy. In this version of Stan Lee's comic book series, Spider-Man is looking for the answer to his parents disappearance during childhood. Also in the cast is Rhys Ifans as the Lizard; Denis Leary (TV's Rescue Me) as Gwen Stacy's police chief father Captain Stacy; and veteran actors Martin Sheen (Apocalypse Now) as Uncle Ben and Sally Field (Steel Magnolias, Norma Rae) as Aunt May. Garfield is a little less wholesome and "aww shucks" as Tobey Maguire but I still like original Spider-Man because of James Franco as Peter's rich college roommate Harry Osborn.
Director Marc Webb appears to have risen to the occasion for his first big-budget picture after directing the break-out indie movie 500 Days of Summer with Zooey Dechanel (New Girl; Our Idiot Brother) and Joseph Gordon-Levitt (who played an underage gay-for-pay hustler in Gregg Araki's Mysterious Skin). Judging from the trailer and four-minute preview of Spider-Man, Webb seems to have been well-prepared for this career promotion, but I sincerely hope 500 Days will not be his last film of its kind.
Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus have both done 3D concerts, so it would be natural for Katy Perry, a life-size human hello kitty doll, to have her own motion picture diary, Katy Perry: Part of Me. This movie follows the pop star during her "California Dreams" tour through behind-the-scenes highs and lows, from her Santa Barbara, Calif., roots to her highly publicized divorce from Russell Brand. Her catchy mezzo-soprano voice is squeaky yet soulful. Her songs are full of pop-culture references that resonante with millennials such as the "plastic bag floating in the wind" from American Beauty and "We make out in your mustang to Radiohead." Fans will likely enjoy these front-row tickets to her concert spectacle on screen in Part of Me.
Despite her controversy in the gay community for her early singles "Ur So Gay" and "I Kissed a Girl," Perry seems to have risen above the criticism with "Firework," which she dedicated to the "It Gets Better" campaign started by sex columnist Dan Savage and his partner. Like Lady Gaga, the spectacle of Perry's concerts and her flamboyant costumes are as essential to her popularity as her voice. Perry and Gaga are both outspoken supporters of the queer community, and their influence can be seen in the hordes of gay fans who show up at concerts and pay tribute to their songs on YouTube. Part of Me opens nationwide July 5 from Paramount Pictures.
Woody Allen's latest film, To Rome with Love, is a loose comedy with four diverging storylines wrapped around a parody of marital infidelity, celebrity and the 24 hours new cycle. To Rome stars Judy Davis (Deconstructing Harry, Husbands and Wives), Woody Allen, Penelope Cruz, Alec Baldwin, Jesse Eisenberg, Ellen Page, and Roberto Benigni and Greta Gerwig (Lola Versus; Damsels in Distress), who play parents who come from New York to Rome to see their daughter (Alison Pill) and meet her new, handsome Roman boyfriend, Michelangelo (Flavio Parenti from I Am Love).
Actor Riccardo Scamarcio (who played gay in Loose Cannons) is featured briefly in To Rome. He plays a clever bit part as a bandit in a hotel room where a fictitious Italian movie star (Antonia Albanese) and a young newly wed provincial woman (Alessandra Mastronardi) are brought together in a chance encounter that turns into an afternoon of hijinks. Woody Allen envelops us into fun of the meandering Roman streets that won't take you where you're going but will lead you into something exciting and then back where you started.
Coming to DVD:
—The Casserole Club is a camp dramedy about a group of 1960s era suburban housewives trying to one-up each other with their hospitality. It goes on sale July 3 at www.BreakingGlassPictures.com .
—Oscar-winning queer classic The Crying Game, directed by Neil Jordan (Breakfast on Pluto) and starring Forrest Whitaker, is a drama about the romance between a transwoman hairdresser and IRA soldier living in London. It is available at major retailers.
—Called "the lesbian Thelma & Louise," Joe & Belle (directed by Veronica Kedar) is a dark comedy about women in love and on the run after they accidentally shoot a man. It is on sale at www.wolfevideo.com .
