 |
| (Photo from: www.wikipedia.org) |
I think he's a terrific person and a very talented actor. One of the best actors working today. I had a James McAvoy phase where all I wanted to watch were his movies. After scrolling through his filmography, I found the title "The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby". The title alone was enough to grab my interest and when I did further research on it, I found out that it was separated into two films and that Jessica Chastain was also involved. Starring alongside McAvoy and a producer of the film as well. At that point, I was determined to watch these two films. One film, told from the perspective of McAvoy's character and the other one told from the perspective of Chastain's character. Two films that make up one story? Peculiar indeed. The résumé of these two actors are impossible to miss too.
With a high bar of expectations, how did it manage after watching both films? To simply put it, I loved it.
For this review, I will be critiquing "The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Him" and "The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Her" separately before giving my overall thoughts on the story.
The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Him
This film set out to do one thing, to tell the story of James McAvoy's character without falling apart without the contribution of Chastain's character. It's obvious from the title itself that the main story line would be centered around Eleanor. How will the film work without much presence of Eleanor? Turns out, it worked pretty well. Eleanor might be gone for most of the film's run time but it gave the film something to work with. The film is simply about Conor trying to deal with his wife's absence, dealing with why their relationship turned into what it was in the film, and dealing with the tragedy that started the everything in the first place. It truly made you feel for him and support him. It sometimes even made you dislike Eleanor for bringing so much complications and pain in his life and it was easy to do that too since the film doesn't let you get invested in Eleanor that much. Although, this movie wasn't just two hours filled with angst. It had some comedic moments too brought on mostly by Bill Hader's character. In effect, this one is the lighter Eleanor Rigby film. Since the plot was simple, it doesn't do anything that was bigger than anything I mentioned. The simplicity of it actually made it better because it made it more authentic. It feels like real life. There were a lot of silent scenes in this film too. Shots of them walking, reading, and thinking are just some but what made these scenes work were the actors. They managed to convey the emotion needed so masterfully that it didn't feel dull. In fact, it felt powerful. James McAvoy, as always, was amazing. He had the tough job of supporting the entire film, to make Conor worth investing on and he did just that. He really really did. In the end, The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Him was good. It told a simple story elevated by the caliber of actors that did their jobs magnificently.
The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Her
And now we go on to the movie told from the perspective of Eleanor Rigby. I expected more from this movie than "Him" because after all, it's where Eleanor is. We find out who exactly is Eleanor and why she is the central figure of the two films. And we do find out who Eleanor is. Here, she makes more sense. I watched "Him" before watching "Her" and since she was barely in "Him", she was more of an enigma than an actual person. Here, we see her as she is and the burden she carries. Like "Him" the plot is very simple. It's about Eleanor dealing with the tragedy of losing her child and trying to find some way to cope. The simplicity allowed everything to be explored full force. There's no side story lines that needed to be showcased or even big reveals. It's just that so it never lacks focus. It's also interesting how it switches the audience's allegiance. While watching "Her" it seems like James McAvoy's character was the one to be disliked not Eleanor and yet I clearly remember being irritated at her while watching "Him". This really adds to both films. It means, both did their jobs well at making you invested on both Conor and Eleanor. "Her" is a much more emotional movie than "Him". It is clear that the tragedy Conor and Eleanor have experienced is hard on both yet they have different ways of dealing with it. It seems like Eleanor's way is less effective and this leads to the film being more sad and wistful. You really feel for her especially when flashbacks show her happy and carefree. The difference between the Eleanor before and the Eleanor now is huge. The performances all the actors gave were phenomenal. McAvoy carried "Him" exceptionally and the same could be said to Chastain for "Her". She really stepped up her game. I can confidently say that this is one of her best performances yet. Viola Davis, Isabelle Huppert, Jess Weixler, and William Hurt were also in the film and were equally great. In the end, The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Her, like its counterpart, was good. It's simple and good plot was made so much better by it's characters and the set of actors portraying these characters.
Overall Thoughts on Both Films
The two films, one story format is unusual but it actually made the whole thing so much better. Thanks to the two main characters having one movie each, we could see every aspect of them without any limitations. It didn't need to worry about balancing the time each character had because it was all explored fully in their own films. We got to see who the characters Conor and Eleanor are. These films are great examples of simplicity at it's finest. It shows that having a grand and complex plot doesn't necessarily mean a great film. It all depends on how well done the script and the execution was. These films were both. All the characters were excellent but would be nothing if not for the outstanding performances of the actors. Everyone brought their A game and it really shows. I also got to praise the superb music Son Lux created for this film. The songs played complemented the scenes wonderfully. It got you to feel more if that's possible. Were there any flaws? There werebut minimal. After watching both films, I noticed that there were some scenes that happened in "Him" that contrast with "Her" and vise versa. There were also scenes that I felt went a little bit too long. This doesn't necessarily mean the silent scenes because I actually quite liked them. It's more of the scenes with dialogue. I also found some parts to be easily predictable. Nonetheless, this should not hinder you from seeing these films. They were a great feat. It unique format really worked. It's authentic, haunting, and beautiful. I definitely think it's worth checking out.
8/10 stars
No comments:
Post a Comment