Review of The One I Love (2014) by Victor T — 13 Jul 2016

Normally I write a small synopsis of the film in question but "The One I Love" surprised my with its unexpected story, so I recommend you just watched this film without any knowledge of its plot, you won't regret it.

To be honest, the only reason I watched this film is because I am a huge "Mad Men" fan and I saw that Elisabeth Moss was in this and I adore her in that show, so I started watching unaware of what I was getting into and I am more than glad that I saw this film without any previous knowledge. "The One I Love" counts with a premise that feels like a straightforward version of Charlie Kaufman (in fact the overall story is like an antithesis to "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind"), the acting is spectacular (Moss continues to impress me, even if her dual performance resembles Peggy Olson, and Mark Duplass makes a solid first impression on me), Charlie McDowell does a solid job for a new time director as he manages to perfectly establish a claustrophobic feeling in a paradise setting, the psychological aspect is executed solidly (this may not be a horror film but it managed to get under my skin), and overall it is extremely interesting to witness the interactions between the characters. But sadly, this intriguing little film has a handful but major problems. The pacing is all over the place as it shows that McDowell struggled to extend this premise into a 90 minute film, despite the fact that the story is interesting it is predictable after the buildup concludes, it could have used some doses of comedy (I don't get why some people call this a "Rom-com". It is not trying to be funny at all), and the last act tries way too hard to ground the story, thus creating some logistical problems.

"The One I Love" is an intriguing yet unpolished film as it counts with an intriguing premise but it suffers from the inexperience of its director and screenwriter due to the pacing issues and the fact that another rewrite could have solved the many issues this film presents in its final act. But regardless of the last half hour, this still is a confident directorial debut that's more than recommendable (it is now a new entry in my list of underrated films).