"New things get old". These simple, deceptively powerful words lie at the heart of Sarah Polley's tragi-comic relationship drama, Take This Waltz. Much like her directorial debut, Away From Her, Polley takes an uncomfortably insightful examination of a marriage on the rocks. Unlike her previous film, there's no disease shattering a decades long bond, forcing one to cope with the realities of loneliness for the first time. Here, the marriage is still barely in its infancy, yet ripped apart by discontent, longing, and convenience.
The always excellent Michelle Williams plays Margot, a wannabe writer who is a jumble of nervous energy. She's insecure and flighty, but also playful and passionate. She's someone who never quite seems comfortable in her own skin, or anywhere else for that matter. When we meet her, she's covering a Colonial reenactment of an adulterer being punished for his sins, a sure sign of the emotional torture she'll put herself through later. It's also where she first meets Daniel(Luke Kirby), who immediately thrusts her into the spotlight where she doesn't like to be. Continuous encounters of providence lead to the two hitting it off, and there's a sexual spark that is undeniable, but presumably fleeting. That is until Margot discovers that Daniel lives right across the street from her, and that her life has just become much more difficult.
The kinetic energy between Margot and Daniel is matched only by the undercurrent of unease in her marriage with Lou(Seth Rogen), a cook book chef with a jovial personality and awkward charm. Married for five years, they're closer to friends than lovers, the sexual spark giving way to silly and immature games, like expressing their love by describing all the horrific ways they'd murder the other. Couples bond over the strangest things, and Margot and Daniel's comfortable domestication feels lived-in and real. So too, does Margot's restlessness feel authentic, and soon the pull of something new with Daniel begins to take hold. It isn't long before she's waking up early to sneak a glance at him before he heads off to work, or hanging out in his home and learning about his secret artistic talents. Not willing to give in to physical adultery, Margot is more than willing to commit emotional infidelity, indulging her curiosity over martinis as Daniel explains all the ways he'd make love to her.
While she yearns for Daniel as much as he does for her, Margot's performing a complicated waltz in her own head. She's a wonderfully layered character, whose feelings of lust and guilt are believable, and even understandable. That doesn't make Margot someone you necessarily root for, but her motivations for everything she does makes sense. That's a credit mainly to Williams, who again makes a complex performance seem effortless. She brilliantly captures Margot's insecurity and painful journey of self-discovery. You can pretty much count on Williams to have one role every year that is worthy of Oscar consideration, and so far this is the one. It's also good to see Rogen doing something different than he's ever done before, not playing the goofball or the sophomoric buddy. Of all, it was him who turned out to be the biggest surprise in how well he makes you want Lou to find success and happiness. Comedienne provocateur, Sarah Silverman, also gives a strong turn as Lou's alcoholic sister and Margot's closest friend.Polley continues to evolve as a filmmaker, taking a serious step forward in the way she uses different camera techniques and symbols to underscore the story's themes. A blurry, dizzying carnival ride captures Margot's fuzzy sense of self, and also the idea of dancing around her primary issues. If only the script were equally nuanced, as it's too often on the nose to be taken seriously. Margot has a literal problem with connections at airports, much like she has in forging lasting relationships. Her "Freeloader" t-shirt a sign of how she skirts by on the genuine love others have for her, which she doesn't return in a real way. A final chastisement near the end of the film lays everything out a little too neatly when it doesn't need to be spelled out. We already know who Margot is and her problems, and Polley does a wonderful job of making her a fully realized human being with flaws and desires. Like most of us, Margot assumes the grass is always greener, but love is a cyclical thing. What was once new will soon become old.
Bittersweet, funny, heartbreaking, and erotic, Take This Waltz is a mature love story that will hit too close to home for some, but has enough fresh insights to make the experience more than worthwhile.
