Monogamy

Theo (Chris Messina) is a Brooklyn wedding photographer with girlfriend Nat (Rashida Jones). He starts a side business Gumshoot to take faux voyeuristic pictures of his clients. Nat is taken aback by his client Subgirl (Meital Dohan). He starts stalking the mysterious woman. Nat is hospitalized for a minor injury and they're planning for their wedding. It all comes to a head and he breaks up with her.

This needs more drama. The Subgirl character is almost a red-herring. The movie needs a powerful scene between her and Theo. He's not that compelling. His drama is all in his head. This could be "Blowup" but it doesn't have nearly enough of moody or style. These are interesting actors especially Rashida Jones but there isn't enough of much else.

It starts off slow and dull and then gets even slower and duller. There's some entertainment value in seeing New York City from the Brooklyn side, but that palls after a few sequences. There's so little to commend this film, and even the stars can't make it interesting enough to be worth a watch. Avoid.

I enjoyed the beginning and very end of this film, but in the middle where the engaged photographer gets lost while his fiancée is in the hospital I really felt like quitting. If you can endure him getting a ukulele in the gift shop, you've got way more grit than I. And his inability to come up with even one good line to explain why his beautiful girl should stay with him? Aw, come on! How can he be that stupid?! I just couldn't believe anyone could be so entirely clueless as our hero in the aimless witless wandering inner 30 minutes of this film. Maybe if you've got a fast-forward that could allow you to watch the loser less closely—as you'd speed-read or skim through some scenes you can't enjoy in an otherwise good book—then you could rate this much higher than I can for the way it sags in its excruciatingly dimwitted longueurs. I know theoretically I shouldn't hold it against the film itself that its hero is such a sap; but he's such an incredibly stupid jerk for such a while, I just can't forgive the movie for making me share his bad company!

I have no idea what my title means. But it was either that or attempt a lame pun about the Japanese art of paper folding.

"Monogamy" is a slow, stylish pseudo thriller about infidelity. But before you race into this expecting something racy like "Fatal Attraction", cool your jets, have a cup of General Foods International coffee and cuddle with your cat on the couch because it's more of that kind of movie. What I mean is that there aren't any erotic elevator sex scenes or boiling bunnies here; instead it's more of a deep, probing psychological exposé of a less-than-enthusiastic couple as they approach their wedding day. But it's told through an interesting story.

The story is about a photographer, "Theo" (Chris Messina), who is engaged to a musician "Nat" (Rashida Jones). Just as the sparks in their relationship are dying down, Theo takes on an assignment to candidly photograph the mysterious "Subgirl" (Meital Dohan) without her knowing. Thus, the stage of voyeurism is set, and when Subgirl starts doing naughty things, Theo begins to get obsessed.

Theo is not obsessed with desire, but rather he's obsessed with the notion that Subgirl and her liaison are engaging in extramarital affairs. And this begins to eat him up, causing him to be both jealous and secretive toward his fiancée Nat. As his obsession grows creepier, so the fiber of their relationship gets strained, and we begin to witness the downside of marriage before it has even occurred.

It may be useful to note that the writer/director of this film, Dana Adam Shapiro, in 2012 wrote the book "You can be right, or you can be married". I haven't read it, but we can guess from the title that it's not exactly a celebration of wedded bliss. It's a series of interviews with divorced couples, touching on the problems that led to their splits.

"Monogamy" fits in line with that description, and although it's listed by IMDb as a romance, it's hardly that. It might be worthy of note to mention that Dana Adam Shapiro has never been married, and neither have I. So I was able to enjoy this somewhat cynical portrayal of (impending) marriage objectively. If you are currently married... well, for starters do NOT watch this movie with your spouse unless you want a truly awkward evening. You might actually be more comfortable watching "Fatal Attraction" and reassuring each other that nobody's bunny will be boiled. "Monogamy", on the other hand, has a way of getting under your skin and making you wonder if there is such thing as everlasting fidelity.

The cinematic style is very artistic, making use of striking images, dramatic lighting and hand held camera work that keeps you in the "reality" zone. The darkness of the film lends itself to a menacing quality that makes you feel uncomfortable about everything. I would compare the style to the excellent films of Jay Anania & James Franco (Shadows & Lies, The Letter) as well as maybe Stephen Soderbergh (Sex Lies & Videotape, Magic Mike), particularly in regard to "real world" dialogue that seems improvised due to the natural delivery of the actors. This is definitely not a glossy Hollywood romance, so check it out if you're looking for something different.

If you have a short attention span, "Monogamy" may border on monotony. But hey, it's better than a boring night playing Monopoly. Or getting a lobotomy. OK I can stop now.

2/14/18. i watched this because I like Rashida Jones. But, even with all her star power she could not save this from cinematic mediocrity. So, Messina plays a bored photographer. Sadly, he's not the only one who's bored. And, playing a voyeuristic photog makes him even more of a snake than he was to begin watch. In the end it really makes you wonder what she ever saw in him.