Review of The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them (2014) by Skyler G — 12 Sep 2014

The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby (2014) - Director Ned Benson attempts the ambitious feet of editing together two short features together; painting a picture of the complete downfall of a relationship. Shot from the perspective of the two superb leads; "Him" starring James McAvoy and "Her" starring Jessica Chastain are combined together to make "Them" or the aptly titled "The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby", which got its title from the Beatles song (trust me the movie will remind you). This is meant to be a 2 hour long portrait of love and loss, slowing unravelling a mystery of why Eleanor and Conor have parted ways from their loving marriage.

I liken this film to putting together a jigsaw puzzle for hours on end... Only to realize by the end of it that you're only assembling a picture of something mundane and simple like a lighthouse. The film is wrought with problems that made it almost tip into a negative overall opinion had it not been for the two leads. The soul reason I went into "Eleanor Rigby" was entirely James McAvoy and Jessica Chastain, two of the best actors working today; And they certainly don't disappoint. The two wonderful leads manage to fight their way through the problematic script, almost saving the movie from itself. You truly feel the heartache between both characters and sympathize with both of their perspectives without even knowing what inevitably separated them until nearly the end of the film. Supporting cast members Viola Davis and Bill Hader add a necessary dose of comedic relief but you can't help but feel like their characters are far more interesting than the leads. Viola Davis especially was a lot of fun and her performance, as usual, was superb. I would have rather the movie be shot from her perspective, which is a problem.

The major factors of contrition against this film lie entirely in the script, length and pacing. Though cataloguing the destruction of a marriage by cutting to post-events and piecing things together through flashbacks and dialogue is interesting; it feels forced and pointless in this particular case. It's hard to relate to the lead characters despite their tragedy because both come from wealthy families, have the freedom to fulfil whatever ambition they choose and have problems that can be easily handled with counselling. The movie moves incredibly slow for its 2 hour running time and by the 90 minute mark you really start to feel it's overwhelming length. Overall the movie just feels bland and leaves you wondering what sort of identity it would have, had it not been for the forced "Beatles" referenced title. I can't entirely say that I'd recommend seeing this film, it lacks the necessary empathy required to draw an audience into its cause despite boasting some stellar performances and most audiences will be bored. I wouldn't rush out to see this one during its wide release but rather, should you feel inclined, see it when it eventually comes to Netflix. It may also be a good rainy day rental to cuddle up with that special someone, just don't expect to feel 100% great by the end of its bloated conclusion.

GRADE: C+.