Film: Take This Waltz (2011)
Cast includes: Michelle Williams (My Week With Marilyn), Seth Rogen (Knocked Up), Luke Kirby (Mambo Italiano), Sarah Silverman (School for Scoundrels)
Writer/Director: Sarah Polley (Away from Her)
Genre: Comedy | Drama | Romance (116 minutes)
Margot is in Nova Scotia on a writing assignment, but she doesn’t find the reenactment of colonial times all that amusing. Daniel seems to find her reaction amusing, however. On the flight back to Toronto, Daniel and Margo meet again when they’re seated in the same row. “You look really familiar.” When Daniel asks why he saw Margo being brought to the gate in a wheelchair earlier, she says she has “issues”... finally confessing a fear of missing connections… being in between. Daniel’s not sure what to make of Margo, but he’s obviously intrigued. Sharing a taxi from the airport, Daniel won’t tell her his address, just saying he “lives pretty close.” There’s obviously electricity between them. But as the taxi arrives, Margo says, “I’m married.” Daniel replies, “Oh, that’s too bad.” Margo goes into #62; Daniel goes into #37, right across the street.
Margo and Lou have been married for almost 5 years and they’re still deeply in love. “I love you so much.” “I love you more.” The goopy love talk is pretty much a constant with them… except that there are times when Margot isn’t sure if it’s just become a meaningless habit. As Margot goes out in the morning, she pretends not to see Daniel. But he knows she sees him. “What are you going to do with me, now that you got me?” “Talk normally, so things aren’t so… (what’s the word)… loaded.” Daniel invites her to #37 to show her something… a drawing he’s made of her. She finds it a bit creepy, but maybe she’s overreacting. “It’s just that sometimes, I’m overcome with momentary melancholia.” (Lou sometimes finds her moods puzzling, too. He often just ignores them.) As the days go by, Daniel seems to be everywhere… smiling at all her goofiest moments. What the hell… they might as well be friends. “Let’s get martinis,” she says. Feeling a bit giddy, she blurts out, “I want to know what you do to me… wow. Did I just say that? ”
Margo suggests they make a date for a kiss… 20 years from now at the lighthouse. By that time, she will have been faithfully married for 25 years and won’t feel so guilty about being unfaithful to Lou. Daniel imagines the kiss out loud. [OMG!] The film does an excellent job of putting us into Margo’s struggle to sort it all out… torn between a happy marriage and an electric attraction to another man. Unlike so many movies, Take This Waltz shows us characters who aren’t looking for a casual affair. But what are they looking for? Even the happiest marriage has gaps… the emotional spaces that a spouse doesn’t fill. At least right now, Daniel seems like a better bet, but who knows what the future holds. Margo’s troubled sister-in-law thinks Margo is searching for the impossible. “Life has gaps. It just does.”
3 popped kernels
A happily married woman torn by an electric attraction to another man
Popcorn Profile
Rated: R (Sexual content)
Audience: Grown-ups
Distribution: Art house
Mood: Neutral
Tempo: In no hurry
Visual Style: Nicely varnished realism
Character Development: Intense
Language: True to life
Social Significance: Thought provokin
