A young up and coming director, Sarah Polley's second film after Away from her which she also wrote. It's great to see female directors finally getting more opportunities in a very male driven world. The film premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in 2011 and also played at the Tribeca Film festival in April 2012 before being released in August 2012 to the UK public.
The film follows 28 year old Margot (Michelle Williams) who is married to Lou (Seth Rogen) for the last 5 years, on a business trip she meets Daniel (Luke Kirby) who she instantly likes and has chemistry with. It turns out that Daniel lives across the street and that Margot's seemingly happy marriage isn't as rosy as it appears but will she actually give in to temptation?
Michelle Williams impresses in the lead role, a performance not too dis-similar to her role in Blue Valentine that follows the slow descent of a relationship that is breaking. In this it is for different reasons but she plays an incredibly down to earth and honest women that many people can relate to. Seth Rogen is his usual self just dialed down a few notches from normal whilst Luke Kirby is excellent as the Bohemian like dreamer who wants to sweep Margot off her feet.
Unfortunately the film itself dawdles at many points and some of the imagery is bluntly obvious rather than being subtle and clever. The fairground sequence played to Video killed the radio star, the montage of clips near the end and the hugging in the kitchen (will be apparent if you've seen it) are excruciatingly obvious comparisons. The moments with Dan are set to a whirlwind of excitement whilst being at home with Lou is painted as a slow and un-interesting existence which I felt really detracted from the realistic aspect of the movie which left it feeling contrived.
2/4 good acting doesn't save this love affair
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