Review of Take This Waltz (2011) by Philip C — 09 Jul 2012

When you watch a film starring Michelle Williams, you know youâ(TM)re in for a real treat. If you look back on her filmography, she has starred in countless films. Most of which are excellent with entirely faultless performances from Williams. Films like: The Station Agent, Brokeback Mountain, Iâ(TM)m Not There, Wendy and Lucy, Synedoche New York, Shutter Island, Blue Valentine, Meekâ(TM)s Cutoff, and My Week with Marylin. Well add Take This Waltz to that list.

Waltz is the second film from Canadian writer/director/actor Sarah Polley. Her directorial debut came with the flawless 2006 film Away From Her, which is easily one of the best Canadian films ever made. While itâ(TM)s not as good as Away From Her, Take This Waltz is still a solid follow-up.

As mentioned above, Michelle Williams is fantastic as she always is. Sheâ(TM)s just mesmerizing from the opening scene to the closing scene. An absolutely flawless performance from an absolutely adorable woman.

The rest of the cast also do quite well. Seth Rogen, Luke Kirby and Sarah Silverman nail their roles. Itâ(TM)s just too bad that Rogen and Silverman didnâ(TM)t have bigger roles to fill. I would have really liked Rogen to have had a bigger role. He delivered some really great lines throughout. But I mean I always want more of him in his movies, because heâ(TM)s awesome. But like in the movie, we canâ(TM)t always have the things we want. At least we got to hear his wonderful trademark laugh. So thatâ(TM)s gotta count for something.

Sarah Polley is equally just as good of a writer as she is a director. The film has a great soundtrack. The story itself is well written. Much of the dialogue is well delivered and all of the internal thoughts of its characters are fully realized. These are well fleshed out human characters. But there are a few times where I think the dialogue could have used a touch up or two.

But my one big quibble is just Michelle Williamsâ(TM) character of Margot. Yes her character is real, genuine and interesting. And yes Williams is utter perfection. Itâ(TM)s just that Margot and her motivations are oftentimes very frustrating. Letâ(TM)s just say that I felt really badly for Rogenâ(TM)s character of Lou.

Either way, that doesnâ(TM)t change Sarah Polleyâ(TM)s great direction. From the lighting, to the colour composition, to the framing and to the time of each take. Itâ(TM)s all good. And I mean nothing beats the very last shot of the film which is fantastic.

Take This Waltz is a very good film. Despite the fact that Michelle Williamsâ(TM) character is incredibly frustrating for a lot of the movie; her performance is unquestionably the very best part of the film. And thatâ(TM)s what really makes it definitely worth a watch.