Not since last year’s “Her” have I been so hoodwinked by a seemingly hipster Rom-Com, directed by Charlie McDowell (Malcom’s lad) and starring Mark Duplass and Elisabeth Moss as a couple who have lost their spark and under advice from their Therapist (Ted Danson – Charlie’s step dad, the money the lad must have saved on casting, his mum – Mary Steenburgen is in there somewhere as well!) go to his little holiday home retreat to rekindle what they once had.
So far………..yeah, I know, all sounds a bit middle class California doesn’t it? To go too far into detail of what follows would pull the rug from underneath your viewing of something that more than most releases, deserves to be seen fresh so I’ll not go down that path, nor shall I talk about what high concept genre additions were welcomed and what were a little over-egging in the pudding department.
Safe ground is the performances, working from a mostly improvised script from Justin Lader, Moss and Duplass go above and beyond what would usually be expected from such fare and never drift off into caricature. Some niggles about the climax but it’s a contained little sleeper that is way too warm and clever to ruin and well worth checking out.
4/5
Pops.
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