The Intervention

I was very interested in seeing Clea DuVall's directorial debut. For years I have only known her as an actress (a very capable one) so I wanted to see what her skills behind the camera, and behind the typewriter if I must say, were. I definitely think there are some contrivances here, flaws that continually stick out. The film is a bit disjointed at times and unsure of where it really wants to go, and yet it still never falls apart and is quite enjoyable. Although the screenplay is very flawed, it also shows a good amount of talent in its dialogue that makes me interested in what DuVall can create next. The reason it works so well is probably because of the very talented and dedicated cast. I do recommend it.

The talented actress Clea DuVall makes her major motion picture directorial and writing debut here, and also is one of the featured players in the ensemble cast of eight as well. The group gathers at a luxurious summer home, outside of Savannah, mainly to have an intervention and urge two of their friends to bail out of a very strained marriage.

There's a lot of talent in this cast and they're effective in their particular roles. However, I found the screenplay to be terribly clichéd and non-believable on the whole, and the characters to be carping and annoying for the most part, reaching epiphanies during the movie that seemed to come out of "left field".

Are we really supposed to feel for a character who's trying to make the argument that Hitler may have had good intentions in what he did, and thus maybe wasn't such a bad guy? How they left this scene in the film is beyond my comprehension.

To note, there's lots of explicit language laced throughout the movie, as well as some highly suggestive sexual scenes,

All in all, a talented cast is rather wasted here as the script and the whole thing just didn't ring true, in my opinion, plus the usual 180's at the end were not worth the long slog to get there.

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.

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.

I've never written a review here but seeing this movie being compared to Big Chill, one of the finest movies about relationships ever, I couldn't help myself. I love these kind of movies but this is just bad filmmaking. Soulless, bad written characters and horrible story. Cannot believe that director is best friends with otherwise great Lynskey, cause she's given her one of the the worst roles of her life.