Take This Waltz REVIEWED BY ANTHONY KAUFMAN
A bittersweet tale of a young woman in love with her playful husband, yet tantalised by a new lover, Sarah Polley’s Take This Waltz is not as mature as her auspicious debut Away From Her. But the film is still a worthy second effort, continuing the actress-turned-director’s sensitive investigation into the endurance — and limits — of love over time. The quirky indie comic drama seems destined
for a Sundance Film Festival launch in the US, fol- lowed by moderate arthouse business in the States and overseas, driven by its recognisable cast (Michelle Williams and Seth Rogen), likeable per- formances and charming set-pieces. When the slightly offbeat Margot (Williams)
meets fellow plane passenger Daniel (Kirby) on her way back to Toronto, these two attractive twentysomethings appear destined for romance. But Margot is a happily married wife of five years, and therein lies the conflict Polley wants to explore: will Margot be happiest staying with her husband (Rogen), a fun-loving cookbook writer who makes her laugh, or with the darker Daniel, a seductive rickshaw-driving, bohemian artist? While the premise might sound simplistic, Pol-
ley digs deep into the scenario, slowing building up a platonic entanglement between Margot and Daniel — most notably in a kind of sex scene, only enacted with words — and yet keeping her pro- tagonist “in between things”, a state the character admits early in the piece is what she most fears. Despite a script that spells out Margot’s condi-
tion a little too explicitly at times, Williams, as always, brings a freshness and naturalism to the role. As a woman who is unsure of herself and what she wants, the actress is able to express nearly every bit of internal chaos without a word of dialogue. And the film excels in its silent moments, resting on Williams’ visage, which effortlessly passes from joy to profound anxiety in seconds.
September 13, 2011 Screen International at the Toronto Film Festival 5 n
GALA
Can. 2011. 116mins Director/screenplay Sarah Polley Production company Joe’s Daughter International sales TF1 International, www.
tf1international.com Producers Susan Cavan, Sarah Polley Cinematography Luc Montpellier Main cast Michelle Williams, Seth Rogen, Luke Kirby, Sarah Silverman
skit from Saturday Night Live, even climaxing with pee in the pool. But then the scene ends with a poignant comparison of women’s naked bodies in the showers (including Williams and Silver- man) which brings home powerfully one of Pol- ley’s central themes: everything, at some point, gets old. Similarly, late in the film, a silly prank that Lou
has been playing throughout the film pays off with surprising poignancy. Unfortunately, an extended, clumsily handled
If Take This Waltz supposedly marks the first
serious dramatic turn for Rogen, famous for his funny-guy roles in Superbad and Knocked Up, the teddy-bearish actor works best as a comic foil, with his affable character Lou lightening up the proceedings with practical jokes and physical comedy. Likewise, as Lou’s sister, comedian Sarah Silverman, even though playing a recovering alco- holic, does a funny Sarah Silverman. Polley does an admirable job of mixing humour
with psychological turmoil. In one hilarious sequence, Margot and friends take a swimming pool jazzercise class, which comes across like a
conclusion undermines these delicate tensions; where Take This Waltz should have ceased its dance of indecision, it keeps going. In some ways, however, the wonderfully bravura last shot — in which Margot, now alone, riding an amusement- park ride of rotating cups, with the song Video Killed The Radio Star pumping on the soundtrack — makes up for the misstep. As a visual film-maker, Polley’s Toronto home-
town has been never depicted with so much golden light. With all the gleaming sunshine, you might think the Canadian city was somewhere in the Bahamas.
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