I was looking forward to seeing this based on the trailers. I knew it was going to be more than what they hinted at, or it was going to be something different, and I was intrigued.
I was also (mostly) right.
For clarity and ease of writing this thing I'll refer to the Downstairs Neighbors (DN) who are Seth Rogan and Olivia Wilde, and the Upstairs Neighbors (UN) who are Penelope Cruz and Edward Norton. I won't be using their character names because quite frankly I don't remember those things most of the time.
The trailers show the DN inviting the UN to dinner, and heavily imply that swinging shenanigans will be part of the narrative. It looks like there's fun misunderstandings and such, as typically occur. Great. I like that kind of thing. The story. Not the swinging shenanigans. Just to be clear.
The DN are an early middle age couple who are not exactly in accord. He's a snarky, miserable, wet blanket. She's concerned more about appearance than substance. She invited their upstairs neighbors for dinner as an apology of sorts for the noise that they made while renovating their apartment. While they're getting ready he vents his frustration at their upstairs neighbors having very loud sex pretty much every night. She's in agreement but doesn't like confrontation.
They're bickering when the upstairs neighbors arrive at the door and they immediately ask if it's a good time because they heard the arguing before they knocked. DN husband is more than willing to reschedule, wife won't.
The couple dynamics are a study in contrasts. The DN, as noted, are uptight and a bit awkward. The UN are relaxed and more solidly a couple. The difference between them is done well with the DN wife showing off the nibbles spread she spent the entire day assembling and the UN girlfriend not being able to eat any of it. Panic ensues. She's also caught out on lying to her husband about him forgetting about the invitation when in fact she didn't tell him. She kinda did by sending him a text on his way home from work. Not the same when she accused him of not listening when she told him the night before. Anyway. That kind of shows dynamic.
DN husband keeps trying to tell the UN that their sex is too loud. DN wife keeps taking steps to stop him. The UN solve it by apologizing themselves, and that's where things take the turn implied by the trailers.
Yes. They showed up to extend an invite for the DN to join them in sex games. When explaining the noise they bring up that there's the said parties and other guests. This intrigues the DN couple and the conversation quickly turns to that.
The UN are open and honest about what they're doing. They're responsible about it and not at all ashamed. The DN are fascinated and the wife especially asks questions. Explicit questions. They get answers. The DN say they're interested, after running off to talk about it in private.
The DN jump on the idea that it could happen that same night. There's discussion about who and how, then they separate into mixed pairs. Turns out the DN wife has been doing some things her husband doesn't know about when it comes to the pair of windows that look into each other's apartments.
Both the DN are nervous, as one would hope, but the UN work at making them comfortable. Or at least as comfortable as they can be. Then the DN husband trips and hurts his back.
This is the moment when the narrative shifts.
He's now in pain and has no filter. He's loudly miserable and lets his unhappiness flow freely. UN wife/girlfriend is a therapist and sex therapist so she takes the lead in asking questions. She gets the DN to talk about their relationship and what's happening in it. For the first time the cracks in the UN's relationship show too.
After several very good gut punches to the audience the DN couple is left realizing that there's nothing left to their marriage. They go into the kitchen to get a container the UN's brought, come back, and they're gone. The movie ends with the DN husband doing something he hasn't done in years and the DN wife sitting and assimilating the whole evening.
The thing turns on a dime from fun sexy comedy to the harsh reality of what makes or breaks relationships. It doesn't let up once it makes that turn either.
This is a very good movie. It does an excellent job of setting you up before yanking the rug out from under you. Anyone who's been in a long-term relationship that morphed into low-key dislike will see themselves in the DN couple. The UN couple is at the beginning of their relationship so they're still in the phase where things are working.
I really don't know what else to say about it. It's a good character study. The twist doesn't come out of nowhere - it was building the entire time. Then it leaves you there with the DN's pain and no resolution.
It's been a while since I saw a movie like this. It's believable from start to end, has fleshed out characters, and doesn't rely on cheap tricks to pander to the audience. I do like that the trailers were kind of a fake out with where the movie goes. Too many trailers give away the whole thing.
Anyway. If you're in or have been in a relationship I'd say go see this but be prepared to have some wounds reopened.
No comments:
Post a Comment