Review of The Killing of Two Lovers (2021) by Jluis_001 — 29 May 2021

Stay together for the kids.

It may be a simplistic reading, but there are not many possible interpretations in this film.

The plot is simple. A man who takes time apart from his wife to try to repair his marriage and not tear his family apart in the process.

The total focus of the narrative is on him, but for the same reason the film makes the other characters completely one-dimensional.

Apparently one of the things they agreed to in their time apart was to be able to see other people, something that his wife is doing, while he's clearly falling apart.

The same scene that opens the film shows you the extent of that quite clearly.

Fortunately the film is short, so it doesn't recycle its elements, this despite the fact that it is quite clear that the character, not wanting to separate his family, doesn't understand that his relationship has ended, and perhaps the healthiest thing now is to take separate ways.

The tension that remains is more of a residual effect of the opening scene, since what remains to be wondered as time progresses, is whether he will ultimately make that wrong decision, or will he be strong enough not to.

The Killing of Two Lovers is a movie that feels cold and distant, but it held my attention, and like I said, it helps a lot that it doesn't overextend its welcome.