THE DISAPPEARANCE OF ELEANOR RIGBY: THEM (2014)

Genre: Romance/Drama
Director: Ned Benson
Cast: James McAvoy, Jessica Chastain, Viola Davis, Isabelle Huppert, Ciarán Hinds, Bill Hader, William Hurt
RunTime: 2 hrs 3 mins
Rating: PG13 (Coarse Language)
Released By: Cathay-Keris Films
Official Website: http://eleanorrigby-movie.com

Opening Day: 1 January 2015

Synopsis: With his unique vision, writer/director Ned Benson ambitiously captures a complete picture of a relationship in the beautifully relatable portrait of love, empathy and truth that is THE DISAPPEARANCE OF ELEANOR RIGBY. Once happily married, Conor (James McAvoy) and Eleanor (Jessica Chastain), suddenly find themselves as strangers longing to understand each other. Told from two perspectives appropriately named, HIM and HER, the film opens a window into the subjectivity of relationships by exploring both sides of one couple’s story as they try to reclaim the life and love they once knew.

Movie Review:

From the ‘Him’ and the ‘Her’ perspective, first-time writer/director Ned Benson had an ambitious proposition to explore the collapse of a marriage from two different points of view. His diptych hasn’t been seen outside of film festivals no doubt due to its length; instead, what is making its rounds is a more theatrically and commercially friendly version which combined aspects and scenes of these two separate films. No wonder then that ‘Them’ lacks a distinct narrative on its own, lurching unevenly between scenes of Him (James McAvoy) and Her (Jessica Chastain) before finally concluding on a bittersweet note that is truer to its title (i.e. Them) than the rest of the movie.

A prologue establishes the freely flowing chemistry between Conor and our titular character Eleanor – “Would you still love me if I can't pay the check?”, he asks her, before both of them make their respective stealthy exits from a New York bistro and end up running down the street to evade the maitre d'. The very next scene marks a decidedly change in tone. Walking along a New York City bridge in daylight, Eleanor hurls herself off over the railing in a suicide attempt, but survives it and ends up in hospital. When she is discharged, she goes to recuperate at her parents’ home in Westport, Conn., under the care of her NYU psychology professor father (William Hurt) and French violinist mother (Isabelle Huppert).

Meanwhile, Conor has retreated back to his struggling restaurant/ bar business, while moving back in with his father (Ciaran Hinds). Conor’s dad runs a much more successful up-market NYC fine dining place, but some lingering tensions relating to Conor’s mother and his dad’s ex-wife mean that Conor is still reluctant to associate too much with his dad, other than staying together under the same roof. Instead, Conor’s interactions are mainly with his best friend Stuart (Bill Hader), who happens also to be the chef at his restaurant, as well as the bartender (Nina Arianda), who has a soft spot in more ways than one for the fellow. And outside of opening hours, Conor spends his time trying to track down Eleanor, who has since disappeared from his life.

What unspeakable incident that happened between Conor and Eleanor to cause their estrangement is held from us as a secret right till the very end, but there is no mistaking that these are two depressed people whose lives have been struck by some profound tragedy and are now trying to regain their balance. While Conor tries to reach out to her, Eleanor finds comfort instead in a world-weary professor Lilian (Viola Davis) whose class she enrols in thanks to her father’s professional connections. Lilian is both blunt and cynical, but Eleanor prefers such refreshing honesty compared to her father’s didactic words – “Tragedy is a foreign country,” he intones at one point, “We don't know how to talk to the natives.”

Thankfully, Benson approaches his story with the same candour as Lilian. There is plenty of sorrow and secrets, but Benson keeps a close watch on the melodramatic quotient of the movie and never lets it get too weighty. Rather than pummel his themes too hard, he focuses on making the characters and their circumstances real, infusing the dialogue and the scenarios with a refreshing sincerity and authenticity. It most certainly helps that he has McAvoy and Chastain as his leading actor and actress – even though they spend a good part of the movie away from each other, their performances are sensitive, nuanced, and played with touching conviction. And when it matters, McAvoy and Chastain step up with incredible ease, enjoying a rapport next to each other that few pairings have.

Though its structure is high concept, the most admirable thing about ‘Them’ is its lack of pretension. Too often, first-time directors get too caught up in needing to prove themselves with their very first feature film. If Benson had such ideals, it doesn’t get in the way of his storytelling. Careful never to let art get in the way of life, Benson nonetheless employs Chris Blauvelt’s cinematography to evoke a French New Wave artistry, but at no point do the emotions portrayed become less real, raw or compelling. Brought intimately to life by McAvoy and Chastain’s persuasive acting, it is the reason why ‘Them’ gets under your skin despite its flaws.

Perhaps the most appropriate praise we can bestow on ‘Them’ is how it makes us want to watch its parents ‘Him’ and ‘Her’. It isn’t near perfect by any measure, but there is something fascinating about Benson’s honest down-to-earth exploration of grief and reconciliation, of tragedy and suffering, of letting go and moving on. If you’re a Beatles fan, you’ll no doubt notice that the title is also that of a Beatles song. Paul McCartney asks in its chorus ‘all the lonely people/ where do they all come from?/ all the lonely people/ where do they all belong?’, but if there is one thing we’ve taken away from ‘The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby’, it is that loneliness is a state of being that no one, not even the most vivacious among us, can ever be immune to. 

Movie Rating:

(Raw, poignant and haunting, this flawed but nonetheless captivating portrait of love, loss and grief rides on James McAvoy and Jessica Chastain’s pair of compelling performances)

Review by Gabriel Chong