Before the film began, I had no idea what exactly the film was going to be about. Director Ned Benson premiered his directorial debut at the Debussy Theatre at Cannes and Jessica Chastain and James McAvoy where also in attendance. The film begins in a happy mood; the young couple so in love eats at a restaurant when they decide to run off without paying the bill. The scene emanates a cuteness factor due mostly to Jessica Chastain's bold and lovable Eleanor. However, the opening scene grabs your attention immediately and you begin to think this is going to be a delightful romantic comedy, but suddenly that mood changes.
Jessica Chastain plays the title character, Eleanor Rigby, which has nothing to do with the Beatles song interestingly enough. She is suffering, but we do not know why until almost the middle of the film. The film moves along slowly during these moments due to its lack of happenings. Nothing really occurs in the film for many scenes. Mostly, the audience sees Jessica Chastain sulking and James McAvoy living poorly with the failure of his restaurant, the foreclosure on his apartment, and his reluctance to ask for daddy's help. The flashbacks visiting us through Eleanor's reminiscence offers a solid escape not just for Eleanor but also for the audience.
One flashback in particular helped make this film much better. Eleanor is playing with her nephew after she has moved back in with her parents and sister when you see her trail off into her own recollection of a much happier past. She and Connor (James McAvoy) kiss and gleefully hold each other while eating Twizzlers in his car. They tease one another encompassing such energy and life thus making everyone sad to think that this beautiful couple is anything but full of life right now. This film basically shows a relationship that was once alive slowly deteriorate after certain events unfold.
The negative aspect of the film, the audience never acquires an understanding of how this event created two very unhappy people. The only glimpse I receive of their suffering is at the beginning when Eleanor tries to kill herself by jumping off the Brooklyn Bridge. The movie transitions from utter happiness in the opening scene to a suicide attempt hence the sudden mood change. From there on it is downhill with the occasional hope of a happy ending unfortunately never fulfilling though.
Now, something very interesting the director mentioned before the premiere included a brief statement of a three-part film. What I witnessed was called The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them but there also is a Him and Her part as well. With this insight, I imagine the other two films follow the story from Connor's point of view and Eleanor's point of view. Hopefully with the release of these other two parts my hunger for how this couple spiraled out of love and into a dimension of failure, loneliness, and sorrow will be satisfied.
I am not saying this film deserves bad reviews or anything negative because I happened to like the film more than most of the films I have seen in Cannes. What I am saying is that this film may be boring to many people and upsetting to many people because it is not a happy film about a happy couple. It is very real and sometimes reality is not something the general public wants to see when they pay eleven dollars to go see a movie. There are moments of comedy brought on by a very sarcastic and melancholy Viola Davis, who play Eleanor's professor for the brief time she returns to school. Her moments lighten the setting because she makes us laugh but not in the traditional comedy way. It is subtle humor, sort of like that friend you may have who begins discussions with sarcastic remarks and then proceeds to self-disclose personal information in a dreary manner purposefully thus forcing you to smile a bit.
The story seems slow at first but in retrospect this film is way more than just a sad story. It becomes a story about second chances, moving on, and even forgiveness. It's about Eleanor moving forward after the event, Connor forgiving his father, and both of them having a second chance at love even if it's not with each other. As far as directorial debuts go, Ned Benson does an adequate job however it's the chemistry between Chastain and McAvoy that allow us to leave the theatre feeling content.
Jessica Chastain plays the title character, Eleanor Rigby, which has nothing to do with the Beatles song interestingly enough. She is suffering, but we do not know why until almost the middle of the film. The film moves along slowly during these moments due to its lack of happenings. Nothing really occurs in the film for many scenes. Mostly, the audience sees Jessica Chastain sulking and James McAvoy living poorly with the failure of his restaurant, the foreclosure on his apartment, and his reluctance to ask for daddy's help. The flashbacks visiting us through Eleanor's reminiscence offers a solid escape not just for Eleanor but also for the audience.
One flashback in particular helped make this film much better. Eleanor is playing with her nephew after she has moved back in with her parents and sister when you see her trail off into her own recollection of a much happier past. She and Connor (James McAvoy) kiss and gleefully hold each other while eating Twizzlers in his car. They tease one another encompassing such energy and life thus making everyone sad to think that this beautiful couple is anything but full of life right now. This film basically shows a relationship that was once alive slowly deteriorate after certain events unfold.
The negative aspect of the film, the audience never acquires an understanding of how this event created two very unhappy people. The only glimpse I receive of their suffering is at the beginning when Eleanor tries to kill herself by jumping off the Brooklyn Bridge. The movie transitions from utter happiness in the opening scene to a suicide attempt hence the sudden mood change. From there on it is downhill with the occasional hope of a happy ending unfortunately never fulfilling though.
Now, something very interesting the director mentioned before the premiere included a brief statement of a three-part film. What I witnessed was called The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them but there also is a Him and Her part as well. With this insight, I imagine the other two films follow the story from Connor's point of view and Eleanor's point of view. Hopefully with the release of these other two parts my hunger for how this couple spiraled out of love and into a dimension of failure, loneliness, and sorrow will be satisfied.
I am not saying this film deserves bad reviews or anything negative because I happened to like the film more than most of the films I have seen in Cannes. What I am saying is that this film may be boring to many people and upsetting to many people because it is not a happy film about a happy couple. It is very real and sometimes reality is not something the general public wants to see when they pay eleven dollars to go see a movie. There are moments of comedy brought on by a very sarcastic and melancholy Viola Davis, who play Eleanor's professor for the brief time she returns to school. Her moments lighten the setting because she makes us laugh but not in the traditional comedy way. It is subtle humor, sort of like that friend you may have who begins discussions with sarcastic remarks and then proceeds to self-disclose personal information in a dreary manner purposefully thus forcing you to smile a bit.
The story seems slow at first but in retrospect this film is way more than just a sad story. It becomes a story about second chances, moving on, and even forgiveness. It's about Eleanor moving forward after the event, Connor forgiving his father, and both of them having a second chance at love even if it's not with each other. As far as directorial debuts go, Ned Benson does an adequate job however it's the chemistry between Chastain and McAvoy that allow us to leave the theatre feeling content.