The Intervention

Greetings again from the darkness. Clea DuVall: Actress/Writer/Director/Producer. No one who has followed her outstanding career (especially as a standout in many independent films) can be surprised that she is spreading her creative wings into all aspects of filmmaking. Her directorial debut can best be described as a contemporary version of Lawrence Kasdan's The Big Chill (1983) for today's thirty-somethings.

Casting is key for an ensemble project, and it's especially difficult for a serio-comedy exploring the insecurities and inherent unhappiness that corresponds to the closest relationships. The premise here is that four couples meet at a beautiful and isolated lake house just outside of Savannah. The motivation for this meet up of old friends is a "marriage intervention" for one of the couples … something that must have seemed better in theory than it plays out in reality.

The couple whose marriage is in the target zone is played by Cobie Smulders (The Avengers, "How I Met Your Mother") as exhausted mother of three Ruby, and Vincent Piazza ("Boardwalk Empire") as the long-ago-gave-up-trying Peter. The others are played by Melanie Lynskey ("Two and a Half Men") as Annie, who has continually postponed her wedding to super nice guy fiancé Matt played by Jason Ritter; Natasha Lyonne ("Orange is the New Black") as Sarah, long-time partner to Ruby's sister Jessie (Clea DuVall); and Ben Schwartz ("House of Lies") as Jack, who brings his free-spirited, much younger girlfriend Lola (Alia Shawkat, State of Grace).

We quickly witness the bitterness and lack of caring that has poisoned the marriage of Ruby and Peter, and of course, it doesn't take long to spot all the cracks in the relationships and personalities of the others. Annie is a control-freak who appears to be a full blown alcoholic, while Matt is such a nice guy, that he refuses to stand up for himself and have some pride. Sarah and Jessie avoid any serious discussion regarding why they aren't living together yet, while Jessie's weakness for younger girls plays a role – as does Sarah's secret. Jack is obviously avoiding dealing with some personal issue (which we later learn) as he plays kissie-face with the no-strings-attached Lola (not Lolita).

The script tries to tackle an enormous number of issues, sub-plots and characters, and while we pretty easily get a feel for each, we never understand how these people ever agreed that a group attack was the best strategy. No amount of charades, barbecue or kickball can hide the messes that define each of these folks … whether married or not.

The actors have tremendous comedy timing and handle these moments much better than the ultra-dramatic moments. Cobie Smulders and Ben Schwartz are real standouts here, which is quite a compliment given the tremendous on screen talents on display. It's a group that can gracefully pull off a Subaru joke while also playing cut-throat charades and dodging thrown peaches.

Ms. DuVall will undoubtedly go on to make better films than this one, but as a first project it offers some terrific moments. Sara Quinn (of Tegan and Sara) scores the film, and though some excellent tunes are included, the music was at times disruptive to the flow of the story. The film will probably hit home with a great many who fall into the thirty-something age group, though older viewers will likely prefer to re-visit The Big Chill from more than 30 years ago.

Solid dramatic comedy about four sets of couples with their own quirks and problems, giving a good balanced outlook at relationships and the various ways in how they can work and work out.

The cast is great and the comedy is subtle. The film does a good job of addressing multiple viewpoints and informing the audience of who each character is and what they are feeling. The best aspect is probably how then each defined character interacts with each other, as well as which ones don't. Often times you get the feeling more of watching a play than a movie (in a good way).

Overall I recommend this film to people who like real life stories, if you are looking for lots of laugh out loud comedy, high stakes or extreme drama then you won't find it here. But a pleasant, thoughtful and enjoyable look at relationships as they mature is delivered in very fine fashion.

I think people get way too involved with negative feedback on this film. Take it with a pinch it's a lighthearted film, enjoyable, at some points funny, sad, very relatable. We can all relate to one of the characters/situation in the film and it's real. Good watch, would watch it again on a Sunday with a cup of tea

Loved it. Natasha and Melanie were hilarious as always and Clea is an outstanding director!

The film tells the story of four couples getting together for a weekend break in a fantastic summer house, but with an ulterior motive.

The story begins quite slowly, and nothing much happens as the scene is being set. However, once the real story gets moving, the events happen quickly. The second half of the story is thought provoking and engaging. I enjoyed it overall.