Puzzle

Gotta love them independent movies. I try to go out and watch whatever I can with my Moviepass, and thought this looked like an interesting film. Kelly Macdonald is pretty underrated, having seen her and her acting talents o Boardwalk Empire. After watching the film, I thought it was simplistic, understated, but highlighted loneliness and what people do to seek out comfort from others.

The film follows Agnes who is a bored housewife. Her relationship isn't exactly stimulating and she is seeking a challenge in her life to escape the mundane day to day she experiences. She stumbles across an ad from a man seeking a puzzle partner for a competition. When she meets him she reinvigorates her love for solving puzzles and also starts to bond and fall for her competition partner. This of course, causes waves in her relationship with her family and she must seek a way to balance both.

The film can feel slow and uneventful for many people, I get it. It is definitely one where there is a lack of events, but the heart of the film is really in the portrayal of Agnes. She is somewhat subservient to the whims of her husband at first but then finds her voice and truly goes for what she wants. Its a depiction of loneliness, which is so common for most of us and the amazing moment where we think we find something new to do to occupy our lives.

The chemistry between Irfan Khan and Kelly Macdonald is good and I think that's what gets you to stay invested in the film. You would think that a film about two people putting puzzles together would be boring, on the contrary I found it simple and rather enjoyable. Its not something to write home about (despite me writing about it now) but its something you could see if you ever felt bored and needed something to pass the time. Much like the leads in this film.

7/10

Living in provincial Connecticut, married to an auto mechanic with two grown sons, Agnes resembles a church mouse, suppressing her own aspirations in order to maintain an ordered household. On the surface, she appears to be a devoted wife and mother, but timidity and low self-esteem have disconnected her from family, friends and herself. A jigsaw puzzle birthday gift leads to Agnes learning she possesses a hidden talent for piecing together these games of fragmented images - and this discovery opens the door to new experiences which force her to question how she's living her life.

Agnes' journey doesn't follow a smooth or conventional path as she struggles to liberate herself from self-inflicted shackles as well as those imposed by others. Kelly McDonald shows her usual excellence, range and subtlety in the lead role, with the script and direction complementing her talents nicely. Although the story's action takes place on a small stage, the characters' are confronted with major issues and upheavals before Agnes is able to figure out what she really wants, and begin the process of realizing it.

To define it as a beautiful film seems enough. Without any explanation. Because it is the perfect film about loneliness, family, passion and resurrection of be alive. Because it is defined by splendid acting, great story, superb cinematography. It is one of films who you can fall in love with . A motif - Kelly Macdonald giving one of her best roles. Or the chemistry between her and Irfan Khan. Or just few scenes , absolutely magical. A film about loneliness and freedom. A magnificent one.

This low-key drama has Kelly MacDonald as a timid housewife who goes through a form of self-discovery when she discovers she has a skill in completing jigsaw puzzles.

The main strength of this one is probably in the acting of MacDonald whose character is consistently a little bit strange, yet identifiable. The entire story is from her perspective so the drama does sort of hinge on her performance and it is very good. She is supported well by the others, with Irrfan Khan best as a fellow puzzle maker she hooks up with and develops feelings for. The film is essentially a family drama, with MacDonald as a taken-for-granted housewife who goes through the process of realising that her voice is never heard and building up the confidence to more fully be her own person. Unlike other films about people with unusual competitive skills such as Populaire (2012) (fast typing), there is next to no focus on the competitive nature of the puzzle building; so, there is sadly no montage sequence depicting MacDonald and Khan developing their puzzle-based friendship via a few set-backs, some jigsaw-based comedy antics and ultimately some top-level puzzle solving action. Its not that kind of a film. The puzzle aspect sits in the background and acts as a springboard for all the drama that surrounds it. A good film overall.

Just a decent piece of poetry for all ordinary people who dared to make extaordinary choices even once in a lifetime. And unlike the puzzles you manage to finish, you got no control of every of your days as life itself, the hardest of all puzzles it is and will be. Real, emotional, cinematography.