Ed's Review Dot Com

Film4, Free Range Films, Le Bureau,

Jim Broadbent, Lindsay Duncan, Jeff Goldblum, Olly Alexander, Judith Davis, Xavier De Guillebon, Brice Beaugier, Marie-France Alvarez, Charlotte Léo, Denis Sebbah, Sébastien Siroux

Nick (Jim Broadbent) and Meg (Lindsay Duncan) are an elderly couple who have found their relationship on rocky ground. Though they are together, they just don’t connect anymore and have little nice to say about each other. They come up with the idea to go to Paris, where they went on their honeymoon, to visit the same hotel and try to rekindle their romance. Jim seems willing, but Meg just doesn’t seem to want to try. We watch them struggle and fall, and get into more an more trouble. Then there are some hidden secrets that have to come out as they try to work this thing out to stay together or just go their separate ways.

This is not a very comforting movie, but I suspect it’s pretty realistic. We like romantic comedies tied up with a little ribbon and placed in a warm place beside the hearth. This movie hits you straight in the face about how they’re not young anymore. They started out, as everyone does, with big hopes and dreams, and somehow time has placed them in much more meager settings that they would have wished. Jim Broadbent is one of the best actors around. The rest of the cast was pretty good as well. There are quite a few funny moments. There is some tragic moments. But through out it all it’s mostly struggle. Jeff Goldblum has a relatively small role of a classmate of Nick’s many years ago. It’s an odd role, and one that’s kind of a mystery to figure out. We’re not sure what he’s really all about, and that’s good because it lets us have something to figure out. In the end, we don’t know where Meg and Nick are going to end up. That’s good too as it would be a far lesser movie if it told us. As it is, you are free to determine their future, as they are, only by your imagination. This was a smartly done film, and though, as I said, kind of painful to watch from time to time, it was really excellently played. It’s not a film for young people, as you probably just won’t get it if you’re under 30 or 40, but you’ll be here someday and it will all make sense. I thought it was a decent film, and one I was glad I chose to watch.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Translux, Working Title Films,

Domhnall Gleeson, Rachel McAdams, Bill Nighy, Lydia Wilson, Lindsay Duncan, Richard Cordery, Josh McGuire, Tom Hollander, Margot Robbie, Vanessa Kirby

When Tim (Domhnall Gleeson) turns 21, his Dad pulls him aside and informs him that the men in their family have always had the ability to time travel to the past. When he finds this unbelievable, He gives it a try and find out it is true. As he proceeds through his life he meets a young woman played by Rachel McAdams. He’s immediately smitten by her, so travels back in time many times to try to win her heart. But he finds there are some events which you cannot go back before without changing things too much. There are limitations in this very quirky little time travel film.

First of all, I must say that I am a sucker for time travel films. I’ve always been fascinated with the paradoxes of time travel and typically enjoy these kinds of films. This one is unlike any I’ve ever seen. There is deference given to the method in which they travel back, nor is there any mention of the quandaries of traveling in time. We just accept it as a fact. This is, after all, mostly a love story. But I think it’s more of a love story between Tim and his father, even more than his love for his wife and children. It is certainly a quirky film, but it was very powerful to me. I was deeply moved by this story and enjoyed it way more than I thought it would. This movie has a feel to it much more like Somewhere in Time or Tuck Everlasting, or even Lake House. The character that Rachel McAdams plays is kind of unlike her other roles. She’s much less the centerpiece of this film than she usually is, but she gives a splendid performance. She’s one of the newer actresses who doesn’t disappoint with her ability to really sink her teeth into whatever role you give her. She adds a lot to the film. The only complaints I might have is that a lot of the wonder of how he can go back in time is wasted when they just kind of throw it aside. There’s not much purpose in his repeated jumps back and forth. But if you stick through the movie, it really gets to the meat of the story and the things that are very important to him. He finds the things that he really needs and the movie turns very touching. It’s deep and it’s soul searching, and not near as novelty driven as most time travel adventures. This movie just slipped in out of left field and shocked me with it’s impact. I was impressed and it has definitely been a quirky week.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog