The One I Love

Well, OK. Read this one.

I just caught this film at the 57th San Francisco International Film Festival. It was a last minute addition to the Festival program, and it was probably the best film I saw there (though my attendance this year was, admittedly, limited.) After an evening of seeing two mediocre films, I was seeking out something to end the evening on a high note. Playing at 9:15 was a film entitled "The One I Love" starring Mark Duplass, Elisabeth Moss and Ted Danson. As there was nothing in the program about the film, I grabbed the ol' smart phone and started to do some research. The first thing I found was a plea to STOP reading about the film and JUST GO SEE IT. Needless to say, I found this very intriguing… so I did just that. And I was glad that I did. I will say little about this film and what I do say may not generate any interest in the film for you, but if you like films with terrific performances and an original thought behind them, then consider checking this film out when it plays in your area.

Duplass and Moss play a married couple whose relationship has grown stale. Seeking the help of a therapist (Danson, whose on-screen time is probably less than five minutes), they agree to go on a retreat and try to rediscover and reignite the feelings they once had for each other.

And that's where I have to stop.

Screenwriter Justin Lader was in attendance and had a great Q&A session with SFFS Programmer Rod Armstrong and the audience but I can't even discuss THAT as it too would spoil your complete enjoyment of this film. Hell, I went looking for a trailer to post for the film before I realized that there isn't one because… well, you know what trailers usually do.

So take a chance. Resist the urge to figure out what I'm NOT trying to say. "The One I Love" is the kind of movie that can generate hours of post-film discussion, particularly with your significant other. If you love movies, then you should respect that.

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Greetings again from the darkness. Starting out with a typical marriage counseling session, director Charlie McDowell and writer Justin Lader lull us into a movie-going comfort zone based on our experience with such Hollywood fluff as Hope Springs and Couples Retreat. All that should be said at this point is ... not so fast!

A crumbling marriage and the subsequent lack of success with communication, leads therapist (Ted Danson) to recommend a weekend alone at a private country estate. The twists and turns that await Ethan (Mark Duplass) and Sophie (Elisabeth Moss), take marriage counseling to an entirely new spectrum. Sophie wants to reignite that early relationship spark and Ethan just wants things back to normal.

The setting does justice to the legend of beautiful California real estate, but things aren't all they seem as Ethan and Sophie bounce back and forth between the main house and guest house. It's in these moments where the big relationship questions are addressed ... and the script is smart, funny, creative and dark. It's not likely anyone can watch this without having some inner dialogue, and probably even some real discussion afterwards.

Mark Duplass ("The League", Safety Not Guaranteed) and Elisabeth Moss ("Mad Men") not only carry the film, but also take on significant responsibility with wide-ranging personality traits and subtle physical changes. Duplass is exceptional and easy for most guys to relate to in how he handles the challenges. While I've never been a big fan of Ms. Moss, her performance here is quite impressive. Whether "together" or "apart", they complement each other nicely.

The closest comparison I have for this one is Ruby Sparks (2012), but this one will have you questioning what makes a relationship work and what should we really expect in our partner. The idea of recapturing the initial spark is absurd, but that doesn't lessen the need for realistic expectations. For the first feature from director Charlie McDowell (son of Malcolm McDowell and Mary Steenburgen) and writer Justin Lader, the unique and creative approach to such a complex topic make these two people to keep an eye on.

Boy, was that so not what I expected. That's all I'm going to say though, anything else would be a disservice to those who haven't seen it. All I'm going to say is that it's a splendid film. Endlessly intriguing with some superb writing and directing, and two absolutely fantastic leading performances. I remember Mark Duplass from Your Sister's Sister, and he's even better here. A guy to watch out for. The main reason I sought this out was because of Elisabeth Moss, who's already given one of my all-time favorite female performance on television with Mad Men. I was pretty excited to see her for the first time in a film, and as a fan, she still surprised me. She's enormously talented, and her work here isn't unlike her work in Mad Men. She's subdued, and always giving the impression that she's portraying so many different facets of her character beneath the surface. If Duplass is great, Moss adds that extra dimension that makes her work here nothing short of outstanding. It's the best female performance I've seen all year, if maybe only rivaled by Johansson's turn in Under The Skin. And, well, the entire film is one of the best I've seen this year. I strongly recommend this, and recommend everyone sees it without knowing too much about it.

This is a slow start, but the second half makes it worth a watch. You better know nothing about the film, just have it and enjoy your time. Because that was the case for me and then I found it a good one. I don't know this director, but Mark Duplass was doing such kind of unique concept small films. So there's no surprise, except I did know I would end up liking it very much.

When it comes to the film theme, kind of resembles 'Coherence'. The whole film revolves around a married couple, except in the beginning. So it is a minimal cast film that is set in a remote place villa. As their therapist's instruction a couple who are on the edge of losing their marriage, tries a weekend getaway to patch the differences. But end up encountering the strange events that pleases them more than what they've expected. When they begin to realise the reality, comes the trouble to fix it once for all.

The third act was amazing. The pace keeps getting better and the tension in the story simply creates enough curiosity about the ending. But the conclusion was very basic and guessable. I liked the honest than too much fancy. Still the viewers look for the answers regarding how it ended which is kind of a wide open for the discussions.

I love modern sci-fi dramas, especially in the last one decade, I have been enjoying them a lot, which are highly intelligent yet casually narrated on the screen that anybody can understand easily. If you had liked films such as 'Coherence', 'Another Earth', 'Her', 'Melanchony' et cetera, then surely would have a good time with it.

7/10

A forehead-wrinkling bit of relationship fantasy that'll stick in your teeth for days. I found a lot of thematic similarities between this one and Being John Malkovich. Though it's not nearly so dark and grim about it, The One I Love delights in asking similarly deep, puzzling questions about the root of an unhappy relationship and the sense of futility that's so often associated with mending something so broken. Of course, like Malkovich, it's also based around a weird, jolting plot device that skirts explanation for its own benefit. The real allure of that vehicle, of course, isn't with the solemn inspection of its construct, it's with the games it directs with the main players. Usually I'm the first to complain when such an elephant is left ignored in the back of the room, but in this case (if you'll excuse the string of metaphors) I think it would be a case of missing the forest for the trees. It's not perfect - the false-finish is telegraphed and the second act sags at times - but it deserves praise for trying something so fresh, and for evenly exploring both sides of the central relationship. Men will see the movie one way, women will see it another, but both will leave with a better understanding of the other's perspective.