Identities

Not Everyone is in Close Proximity to Professional or Semi-Professional "Theatre", this one has "Off-Broadway" Written all over it, therefore the Movies can Offer Audiences want to Experience that sort of Thing, at least "Two Dimensionally".

This Film Looks, Talks, and Plays Out like a Stage Play. Early Television had things like "Playhouse 90" and this Story and Production would Fit Nicely in that Format. The Writing is Sharp, Ambiguous, Mysterious, Attracting, and sometimes even Profound.

The Acting is Uniform and the Two Leads (Rachel Weisz, Michael Shannon) do Their Best Weaving In and Out of the Complicated Scenario. It's one of those that if You Pay Attention, can Draw You into its Maze as the Twists and Turns will Hopefully Lead to a Reward.

Reaching the End of the Puzzle that is "Alice" is Semi-Rewarding and the Jigsaw like Journey does Unveil slightly Disturbing Behavior and is Meant to Question Commitment vs Freedom.

But Life's Important Decisions are so Multi-Layered and Complex that the Easy Answer of just "Moving On" every Year or so is Hardly the Solution to a Varied and Fulfilling Life.

This is Obviously Reflected on "Alice's" Face and Demeanor as She Relates Her Biography and after Her "Confessions/Revelations", She is right Back Where She Started, just like a Rat/Robot going through the Maze Again and Again with Little or No Lasting Reward for Her Efforts.

This is for a Limited Audience, certainly Not for Everyone, but Recommended for those that like Their Movies with More Head than Heart.

Maybe I was in the mood for it, but I found this little movie intriguing. It's certainly different. I didn't read anything too profound into it; I just think it was an interesting story beautifully played.

It seems to have bored some people stiff and the critical response according to Wikipedia was mixed to negative - I guess they weren't in the mood for it.

Alice (Rachel Weisz), a woman who disappeared years before, returns and meets her old boyfriend Tom (Michael Shannon). We learn that she has changed identities and occupations many times, acquiring new skills and friends, only to suddenly leave them all behind to adopt a totally new identity.

This sort of thing usually has sinister undertones often involving serial killers and people held captive in cellars, but here there is nothing evil at all, only feelings of sadness for a lost relationship and Tom's sense of purposelessness in his life.

There are a few more layers to it, and Alice's self indulgent philosophy is questioned.

There is one telling sequence when Alice and Tom help an older couple played by Danny Glover and Kathy Bates. Tom is invited into Alice's world of identity changing almost like in theatre sports where the players are given a character and then have to improvise like crazy; it unlocks something repressed in Tom.

As Alice's story unfolds I thought of that line in Kurt Vonnegut's "Mother Night" - "You must be careful what you pretend to be, because in the end you are what you pretend to be".

The film has a seductive mood aided by an atmospheric score and doesn't outstay its welcome. I won't spoil the ending, but it felt right.

I'm glad I didn't read the critics first - "Complete Unknown" was a complete surprise.

Alice (Rachel Weisz) re-enters Tom's (Michael Shannon) life after disappearing for fifteen years. Only, she's hard to identify because of the multiple personalities she has assumed in those years. She remains the titular heroine of Complete Unknown, and she is a stranger to the end of this complicated and accomplished indie.

Don't come to this absorbing adventure seeking Walter Mitty thrills: Alice subtly changes her personal shape and doesn't burden us with cheap melodrama or even sexual romance. Rather the emphasis is on discovery: As Tom peels back the layers of her personalities and discovers her, he is drawn into discovery of himself and his own unfulfilled life. Although she is the center of the exploration, he is close behind, like all of us afraid to look inside ourselves to see the multiple possibilities for life change.

Complete Unknown exposes the yearning we may all have to live other lives. In Alice's case, she may have lived as a magician's assistant and a researcher, and more in between. But actually whatever roles she has taken, she cannot efface her core self as her return to observe her parents and see Tom again shows.

In a bizarre occurrence on the street, Tom helps a fallen old lady (Kathy Bates) by pretending to be an osteopath, rather enjoying how Alice has roped him into to assuming the new role. At this point, director Joshua Marston shifts from the mystery of Alice's identity to the mystery of who Tom is or wants to be.

He becomes the one whose identity we also speculate about. Whether or not he decides to leave his unfulfilled job to go with his wife to California for her professional study opportunity becomes just as intriguing as Alice's many lives. The film is figuratively blunt about the power of changing one's life, for good or ill.

Marston has masterfully made us question our own identities and our use of talents and pursuit of other lives than the ones we have stuck ourselves in. By extension, Complete Unknown may be a discourse on the ability of art such as movies to take us into lives heretofore unavailable to us.

Anyway, this is a film for thinking people who may want to speculate on the lives they could have and the life they have.

"Complete Unknown" (2016 release; 92 min.) brings the story of Alice (played by Rachel Weisz). In the pre-credit opening montage, we see her in a number of completely different settings (emergency room nurse, magician's assistant, pianist, etc.) Who is this person? After the opening credits, we get to know Alice, now a biologist in New York. She takes an interest in a guy at the cafeteria, and it's not long before they befriend. One evening they go to a dinner party to celebrate the birthday of her friend's co-worker (played by Michael Shannon). Shockingly, the co-worker recognizes from a prior life, 15 years ago, and confronts her. Why did she vanish without a trace all those years ago? Why did she come back? To tell you more would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: this is the latest movie from writer-director Josh Marston. Here he tackles a potentially intriguing promise: a woman seemingly drops off the face of the earth 15 years ago, and then returns, all the while spinning tales (are they true? or made up?) about her exploits in Australia, China, Mexico, and so on. The first half hour of the movie is the best, as at that point we are barely understanding what is going on, keeping us hungry to understand the full picture (is Alice battling multiple-personalities disorder? is she a con-artist? a femme fatale? delusional? all of those?). As that full picture emerges, regrettably (but perhaps unavoidably) the mystery is lifted and the movie loses some of its appeal (but not interest). Rachel Weisz absolutely shines in the lead role, and to see her in all these different settings is a true delight. Michael Shannon at times seems to struggle to keep up with Weisz on the screen. Kathy Bates and Danny Glover play an elder couple (one long scene, maybe 10 min. of screen time). The movie flew by in no time, but I also have to be honest: the ending baffled me, and not in the best way. Last but not least, there is a wonderful score, courtesy of Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurrians.

The movie premiered at the Sundance festival earlier this year and was snapped up by Amazon Studios, yes, this is yet another movie release from Amazon, The movie finally opened this weekend at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati and I couldn't wait to see it. The early Friday evening screening where I saw this at was attended nicely, but by no means anywhere near a sell-out. If you are interested in a character and relationship drama that seems it could go in many different directions, and stars the lovely and talented Rachel Weisz, I'd suggest you check out "Complete Unknown", be it in the theater, on VOD, or eventually on VDV/Blu-ray, and give it a try.

This film is a drama, not so much a mystery, and it has an actual storyline, with characters who can grow and learn while dealing with life-changing decisions.

It is not boring, unless the viewer needs either a lot of exposition or explosions. Without going into spoilers, I can say that there are some seemingly implausible aspects, but nothing in the film is actually impossible to believe.

As already stated, the characters grow and change, and deal with decisions that will impact their lives, and I was pleasantly surprised with the ending, as it was unexpectedly uplifting.