Ned Benson’s romantic exploration of Eleanor Rigby tells the same story three times, from his side (Him), her side (Her) and now combined in this final instalment subtitled Them.
The first two films, released simultaneously a year earlier, ably demonstrated different sides of the same story, where one person’s memory or viewpoint may not match the other’s recollection. It’s the tale of a loving couple who separate after a tragedy and find themselves as strangers trying to deal with their grief and find each other again.
While the concept is rare, it’s not the first time movie makers have toyed with the notion of viewpoint over multiple films about the same events. The most notable of these would have to be the 1976 drama Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway, and its companion piece Alexander: The Other Side of Dawn. Both caused scandal because of its star Eve Plumb playing a teenage prostitute while still being much-loved as television’s Jan Brady from The Brady Bunch.
More recently, Russell T Davies did the same again in the UK with his trilogy of weekly television serials, Cucumber, Banana and Tofu, the first two which told overlapping tales of the same characters and the latter offering interviews with the cast and other individuals on that week’s subject matter.
Surprisingly, this concept works well, with overlapping scenes adding to the interest of the individual’s story and how they got to that moment. The downside is the extended length of time the viewer needs to commit.
Benson has compensated for this by now releasing the third and final instalment of Eleanor Rigby’s story, combining the first two films into one. While this seems like a good idea on the surface, allowing viewers to see both sides of the story merged, in reality it becomes a patchy tale with more than an hour of events cut out to make it a manageable length.
Prior knowledge of the first two films seems to be a pre-requisite, with many of the details left out. We enter the story at the breakup and attempted suicide of Eleanor Rigby without any knowledge of why either has happened. While some details are revealed as the story unfolds, we never really engage with the characters because their motives remain a mystery throughout.
The plodding pace allows for nuanced performances from both stars, Jessica Chastain as Eleanor and James McAvoy as her husband Conor, but it most certainly won’t be to many people’s taste. Long, still shots of people walking, talking or pausing in their naturally-stilted conversations will force many a romance seeker or drama lover to switch off fairly quickly.
This is an art lover’s film for those who enjoy naturalistic acting and achingly beautiful performances over and above the melodrama and action of most other films. For them, begin at the beginning with the first two films, knowing that you’ll undoubtedly takes sides based on whose story you watch first, then complete the journey with this heartfelt retelling. For everyone else, your curiosity may be rewarded, but don’t expect a happy or easy journey.
Reviewed by Rod Lewis
Twitter: @StrtegicRetweet
Rating out of 10: 5
The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them will be released on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital on 17 June 2015.
More News
