Take This Waltz: Movie Review

Take This Waltz: Movie Review

Cast: Michelle Williams, Seth Rogen, Luke Kirby, Sarah Silverman
Director: Sarah Polley

The second film from Sarah Polley is an indie looking at the nature of young love.

Michelle Williams stars as Margot, a writer who lives with her husband of five years, Lou (Seth Rogen in a rare dramatic turn).

One day, when out on a writing job, she encounters Luke Kirby's Daniel, with whom she begins a playful flirtation which ends abruptly as it spirals dangerously close to coming to fruition.

However, Margot's shocked to discover that Daniel lives across from them - and yet, continues to find herself drawn to him....initially, in accidental meetings and then more deliberate meetings, the pair begin to fall for each other and the tensions begin to build.

There are parts of Take This Waltz which I really loved and other parts which made me want to shout at the screen in abject frustration.

Firstly, Sarah Polley's direction of this film is assuredly strong as she crafts together some very striking and sensual visuals throughout. One sequence at the end which is a continually rotating shot of two of the cast building a life together is breathtakingly original and cleverly executed. She's also got a deft touch of using the camera to linger on the characters and what's unfolding on the screen which helps you occasionally get some insight into the unfolding drama.

Secondly, Michelle Williams gives a great turn as Margot - even if I was extremely frustrated and unsure of her motivations and the reasons for her actions.

So much is unsaid in this film that, despite an impressive performance from Williams, it's incredibly hard to either empathise or engage with her and her apparent frustration with Lou, a nice guy who seems to care for his wife and is doing the best for them. But that's potentially what director Polley wanted to achieve and you'll get into this as much as you put in.

It's difficult to see why she would stray from a decent guy who's depicted as caring? I understand the filmmakers were trying to capture that glimmer of love, the hopes that it offers - but unless you can see why Margot's disenchanted with her life, it really does leave a sour taste in the mouth. (Perhaps you could argue that provoking such a strong reaction is part of the film-maker's MO...)

Rogen is impressive in a dramatic, down the middle turn, showing a bit more depth to the comedy acting he's done through the years; and Sarah Silverman is good as the sister struggling with sobriety.

All in all, Take This Waltz is a frustrating experience: sure, it's about real people and the real issues they face, but thanks to a lack of real depth of development, you don't quite care enough about what unfolds on the screen - no matter how well put together it is.

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