Should you watch this at weekday movie ticket prices? No.
Should you watch this for free? Don’t.
Secret ending? No.
Running time: 123 minutes (~2 hours)
“The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them” is a romantic tragedy, a drama that follows the eponymous Eleanor and her husband, Connor after a disastrous event occurs. It stars Jessica Chastain (Eleanor Rigby), James McAvoy (Connor Ludlow), Viola Davis (Professor Lillian Friedman), Ciarán Hinds (Spencer Ludlow), and Bill Hader (Stuart).
“The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them” alternates between both couple’s perspectives, and shows their journey of sorrow and forgiveness. It originates from two other films: “The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Him”, which explores the circumstances from Connor’s point of view, and “The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Her,” which features the situation from Eleanor’s perspective.
The story structure suffers a fair bit from the compilation, although having not seen either of the perspective films, it’s difficult to say just how much was added or reduced. Regardless, it feels more like a gimmick than an artistic choice, and the final product doesn’t impress.
Highlights
Depiction of the modern generation of younger adults
Connor and Eleanor are portrayed as constantly searching for an answer, as a result of the tragic incidents that have occurred. Professor Friedman later points out that they are the “lost generation,” the generation of too many choices – which perfectly encapsulates the emotions in their performance. Despite their unfortunate accident, the couple holds up as a strong representation of their age group, showing the concerns, worries, and lack of direction for today’s younger adults.
Viola Davis’ turn as Professor Lillian Richfield
Professor Richfield is one of the less insufferable characters in the film – her lines bring poignant meaning to the film (as evidenced above), she has an interesting backstory that makes her relatable to both parents and offspring alike, and she has her own story arc within the film. As Eleanor’s mentor, she brings a sincere understanding to the situation, and provides us with interesting interactions to watch.
Letdowns
Overly pretentious dialogue
The problem is that many scenes might start with action, but quickly devolve into a pair of talking heads. The exchange typically starts off with either protagonist’s dilemma, segues into what is meant to be a fascinating exploration of a modern issue, then dives back into the protagonist’s problem. Unfortunately, this fascinating exploration often turns out to be a pretentious commentary on some societal issue which is not only shallow, but drags down the pace of the film as well. Too many of such scenes make this movie “The Discussion of the Disappearance and Reappearance of Eleanor Rigby and Other Miscellaneous First World Problems.”
The colour correction is on overdrive
There is no subtlety to the colour correction done. Either it’s overly saturated warm orange, or muted dark blues. It feels like someone just took Instagram filters, pushed it to the maximum settings, and slapped them on the final cut. When an obviously white-washed wall is golden, it jars you out of a movie that is already very difficult to relate to.
Ponderous pacing
The film is a lavishly self-indulgent journey into the mind of the director. Yes, the shots are artistic and the content can be insightful. But nothing happens. It’s full of feeling but no thought. There’s nary an exciting moment, because the beats unfold too slowly to generate any sort of tension.
“The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them” wastes the talents of James McAvoy and Jessica Chastain on a pretentious film that bores you to death. The only saving grace it has are the good thespians who manage to imbue emotion into a lifeless script.
“The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them” opens in cinemas 1 January, 2015 (Thursday).
This review was also published on Yahoo Singapore.
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