By Rodrigo Valverde/reporter
In his directorial debut, Ned Benson brings The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby, a story of love, tragedy and redemption.
The film follows Connor (James McAvoy) and Eleanor (Jessica Chastain) as they try to recover from an awful tragedy that causes their relationship to fall apart.
The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby is divided into three separate films titled Him and Her, presented from the perspective of Connor and Eleanor, respectively, and Them which combines both of their views. This review is strictly for the film Them.
The film opens with Connor and Eleanor on a date, as happily in love as any young couple could be. It immediately cuts to the present day where any happiness there before has diminished to where they have become complete strangers.
Details as to what caused the relationship to take a downturn are gradually revealed as the film progresses but are not spoon-fed to the viewers. Audience members must fill in blanks left about the characters’ pasts and how they got to where they are, but it doesn’t detract from the storytelling.
While the film is ultimately about Connor and Eleanor’s relationship and how they plan to continue living their lives with or without each other, most of the film focuses on them separately trying to cope with their loss. They try to figure out what they want in life now that everything has changed. Connor focuses most of his attention on his failing restaurant, and Eleanor takes college courses to try to take her mind off the past.
Both lead actors give powerful performances and sell the audience on the stress and depression that the characters are going through. And as good as McAvoy is in this film, Chastain definitely overshadows him and delivers what some might consider an Oscar-worthy performance.
With both characters relying on the support of their close friends and family, the film has strong supporting characters for the leads to play off of, including Bill Hader, Viola Davis and William Hurt.
The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby, while slowly paced at times, keeps the audience invested in these characters and delivers a story that is relatable to anyone who has been married, in a relationship or would like to be in a relationship.
This is a definite recommendation for any movie fan.
Them is currently in limited release. For those who would like to delve deeper into the lead characters, the Him and Her films will be released Oct. 10 in select theaters.
