Take This Waltz, Take This Waltz. It's Yours Now. It's All That There Is,

There aren’t many films that delve into the inner workings of relationships and the hardships they ensue that do not make me feel a worse person for seeing it. Take This Waltz is a film about Margot (Michelle Williams) who lives a charming, yet passionless life with husband Lou (Seth Rogen) and finds herself unwittingly drawn to neighbor Daniel (Luke Kirby). Margot’s emotional betrayal of her husband is not what makes me feel less guilty; the honesty surrounding the three characters created by write/director Sarah Polley is an unseen portrayal of a cinematic affair.

Michelle Williams’ unbelievable performance occurred in last year’s Blue Valentine where the broken marriage took the life out of her character. Gladly, she did not simply repeat the performance for this particular troublesome relationship. I became connected to her subtly in Take This Waltz, which I give credit to the subtly of the role in general. Her restlessness in regard to Rogen’s distracted nature is not overplayed and there was a consistent emotional connection, even through to the end.

What took me by surprise was the performance by Rogen. He portrays THAT man. The man who, by no fault of his own, is content with his life, believes nothing will alter the peaceful existence and is in a moment of bliss with the woman he loves, unaware that his actions of nothingness are destroying her. William’s underlying restlessness plays throughout the entire film, climaxing in emotional betrayal of her husband. In a refreshing aspect to this played out tale, it is only after she leaves her husband when she awards herself the carnal actions of a lonely woman. Upon discovering his wife’s betrayal, the culmination of emotions Rogen emanates into a direct frame of his face is a moment I would not have expected out of the recognized comedian. Kudos to Polley for not only creating a moment of honesty on screen, but for not spoon feeding the audience with over analytical dialogue that would have only been trumped by the performance Rogen gave in those two minutes of heart wrenching emotion.

In a small sidebar, I would like to point out that never do I enjoy watching a film shot in Toronto. The city is most commonly used as a gimmick or it seems uncomfortable and foreign to watch the characters act out their lives in the streets where I live. However, production designer Matthew Davies utilized the city in a manner I have never seen captured. As Polley pointed out in the Q&A after the showing of the film, she enjoys the colourful nature of Toronto and wanted to show the city in that light. Mostly portraying the Annex, the brightness of the city popped on screen, yet never overshadowed the mis-en-scene. Subtle, yet beautiful. A growing motif in this review.

The film itself does what is not entirely expected. I do not want to be a reviewer who gives every plot point away to an unsuspecting audience, so I won’t go any further than saying I am glad Take This Waltz did not end in the typical fashion. It ended as honestly as it began, with pure emotion from the characters and with no need to simplify the subtext with extenuating dialogue. Granted, I left the theater not fully satisfied, but I’ve come to terms. In truth, I welcome the change of a film that did not end up the way I believed, or wanted, it to. Many may think the film does not fulfill what it was grasping to accomplish in the final thirty minutes. Yes, the last quarter was not as satisfying as the first three, but with that being my only criticism of the film, I believe it a success. The film was directed smoothly, performed honestly, and designed beautifully.