Review of Take This Waltz (2011) by Clarisesamuels — 11 Mar 2013

His movie had an interesting theme that was explored in a cinematically artistic way, but unfortunately, the film hesitated, stumbled, fell down a winding path, and landed in an awkward place. The eternal question of which situation is preferable--a loving marriage with the comfort of history, family and endearing quirks, eccentricities, and traditions, or a passionate love affair that sends one into outer space and around the moon and back before the inevitable crash landing on planet Earth? This film explores that dilemma, but the resolution is vague and ambiguous.

Margot, played by Michelle Williams, meets a handsome stranger in Nova Scotia, Daniel, played by Luke Kirby, who happens to be a tourist at Fort Louisbourg in Cape Breton, where Margot has been assigned to rewrite their marketing brochure.

Margot and Daniel meet briefly at the fort in an encounter which involves a re-enactment put on for the tourists. Daniel then shows up sitting right next to her on the plane back to Toronto, and then shares a cab with her at the airport only to find that they live across the street from each other.

This is difficult to believe, but in this film, fiction is stranger than truth. They have already fallen in love and neither one can admit it, because Margot's 5-year marriage to Lou, played by Seth Rogen, who has to do serious acting for once in a film that is actually not of the gross and vulgar variety, is precious to her.

(If they are supposed to unhappily married, the script fails to convey that at every level.) Margot, however, is already madly in love with neighbor Daniel, despite the fact that he is a frustrated, unknown artist who ekes out a living as a rickshaw driver, which is a Toronto tourist-industry phenomenon.

Her husband Lou is a successful cookbook author. Even though it is sociologically well documented that women value a man's stature in the world more than they value looks, Margot not only falls in love with this drifter, she leaves a good husband for him, when it is obvious that she had only two choices: 1) resist him; 2) have a brief affair and get him out of her system.

Before Margot leaves her husband, there is a period where the film intelligently explores the never-never land of being both happily married and madly in love with someone else, a situation that is mostly fantasy as long as nothing happens.

Just when you think Margot is going to become strong in her resolve and not make a serious mistake, which would have involved having a scenario where Daniel's magical power over her gets destroyed, she caves in and leaves her husband.

Thus begins the bizarre last act of the film, where Daniel moves into a fabulous Toronto loft that he can somehow afford as a rickshaw driver in a city where real estate is prohibitively expensive. Margot moves in with him, and at last they can make love, which turns out to be not just wild passion, but kinky sex involving third parties.

This is completely out of synch with the essential nature of their romance, but no explanation for their behavior is offered. And finally, just like in a marriage to a nice guy, the two eventually settle into a routine where they spend a lot of time watching television.

In the end, does Margot realize she made a mistake? Perhaps, but director Sarah Polley offers no firm resolution, and we never know if Margot can return to her husband or resign herself to life with a rickshaw-driving partner.

Or if, when all the dust settles, she ends up with nothing and no one, but without regret because it was worth the ride, or the waltz, as in Take This Waltz, and who better than Leonard Cohen can emblemize a life philosophy based solely on carpe diem.