| RATING: | 100% |
| FORMAT: | Cinema |
a sexual relationship movie of singular distinction that refuses to pull any punches about the true sins of the flesh: Divorce.
Not really a love story, since that particular human quality is both undefined and undemonstrated here, more a profound analysis of a relationship on the rocks; resulting from the need for love rather than the ability to share it with someone else from the outset. We see the background of two people from averagely-dysfunctional families where love was not the norm and their resultant attempts to achieve something worthwhile from their sex lives that are better than their parents possessed. But such a goal can never lead anywhere because both are still obsessing about the past and telling each other what they need rather than actually doing it: They talk about love but find the act itself problematic. Living in the past makes the contrast between their courtship and their divorce all the more stark; while simultaneously revealing how much like their parents they have - in the end - become.
The acting is first-rate from the two leads Michelle WILLIAMS & Ryan GOSLING and they grip and hold our attention from first to last. They embody their characters completely: The male side desperate to prove he is caring and sensitive; the female, wanting her Prince Charming. The writing and direction are exemplary from Derek Cianfrance and reveal the film as wrenched from the personal experience of wanting to achieve a so-called happiness through others that simply does not exist. The documentary-style of the filmmaking emphasizes the realism of the performances, along with the extreme close-ups and shallow focus: We feel very much a part of the lives of these two people. Like Two Lovers, this deals unflinchingly with sexual love in the modern, materialistic West. A modern-day horror story, if ever there was one.
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