The One I Love

A forehead-wrinkling bit of relationship fantasy that'll stick in your teeth for days. I found a lot of thematic similarities between this one and Being John Malkovich. Though it's not nearly so dark and grim about it, The One I Love delights in asking similarly deep, puzzling questions about the root of an unhappy relationship and the sense of futility that's so often associated with mending something so broken. Of course, like Malkovich, it's also based around a weird, jolting plot device that skirts explanation for its own benefit. The real allure of that vehicle, of course, isn't with the solemn inspection of its construct, it's with the games it directs with the main players. Usually I'm the first to complain when such an elephant is left ignored in the back of the room, but in this case (if you'll excuse the string of metaphors) I think it would be a case of missing the forest for the trees. It's not perfect - the false-finish is telegraphed and the second act sags at times - but it deserves praise for trying something so fresh, and for evenly exploring both sides of the central relationship. Men will see the movie one way, women will see it another, but both will leave with a better understanding of the other's perspective.

It's interesting - and maybe a little TOO in-depth, just perhaps - looking at the message board for this movie on IMDb. There's all sorts of theories that are flying about this way and that, what this means, who did what to whom, is there any meaning in an 'Oragnutang', things like that. What the filmmaker Charlie McDowell and writer Justin Lader have done is create a work that can bring a lot of different interpretations, that's what's so spectacular bout it. It's a relationship comedy-drama, but it has the structure of something like a Luis Bunuel movie (Exterminating Angel) - a couple comes to a retreat to try to work out their issues and deal with past pain, in part from Ethan, thanks to the advice of a therapist - how they came to him is a bigger question never addressed, but whatever), and whenever they go into a guest house one of them meets a 'version' of the significant other who is, in their own certain way, perfect. Or ideal, or something that makes them... happy, I suppose.

The One I Love has only two characters, though one could/should say there are four. However you want to look at what's happening here - a science fiction experiment, a mind-control device, brain manipulation, or just a simple narrative trick that one would probably never question if it were in a novel instead of a movie - as far as the character dynamics go. It's an endlessly clever but emotionally involving story of mind-games; are Ethan and Sophie, the new ones, really ALL good for the 'real' Ethan and Sophie? How do they know all of these things about one another? Perhaps they're projections or part of the subconscious mind. No matter. What matters is how the characters go from scene to scene, being happier - or not, as happens to Ethan - and the ups and downs when, finally, the 'New' Ethan and Sophie reveal themselves without tricks to the 'Real' Ethan and Sophie as... Ethan and Sophie you guys!

There is confusing stuff here. I thought I could watch the movie sort of half-asleep, and not only did that not work, the movie really kicked my head up into gear to get into the mix of it. I also thought it being Mark Duplass - he serves too as producer with brother Jay - it would be quite funny, but less... heady, perhaps? What really cements the film is that whether it's Real or Not-Real Ethan, or Real or Not-Real Sophie, Duplass and especially Elizabeth Moss make them funny, awkward, sad, angry, sensual, crazy, scared, weird and angry again all in natural measure. The wonderful thing about most of the film, until a certain point perhaps (though it's gradual, not a sudden turn for the worse or anything), it's organically developing. When the characters enter their 'fantasy' space - and like Bunuel they can't seem to get out when they may want to the most - they may be changing for the better... or worse.

So for all of the gimmicks of the story it has to work with the characters and the actors, whether one is 'real' one scene and then 'fake' the next, and who can tell outside of the glasses (hey, he's like Clark Kent, non?) The movie works best, and is riveting in a kind of harrowingly comic way, when the husband and wife are getting used to what they see as a "safe' environment to play out their other's better qualities, as if it's a 'tag-you're-it' thing, and we get to see how one views the other and one tries to be more or less comfortable. In other words, it's just a lot of fun outside of the obvious psychological implications. Where it gets a bit fuzzy is when the 'plot' kind of kicks in a bit more, or it felt that way for me, in the third act when the 'Fakes' and their actual origins are revealed (more or less, some of it remains obscure, which is maybe for the best for the sake of the sanity of the piece), and it kind of falls apart.

And yet, the end scene brought me back again, so it's a strange thing. The whole movie features two actors, both with magnetic, awesome chemistry, getting to play a wide swath of emotions, albeit in how the particular 'version' goes from moment to moment (not unlike earlier this year with Eisenberg in The Double). It's a surreal farce that resonates because it asks what a lot of the great movies about marriage ask: who is this person I am with, and can I continue to be with them the same way? For a while, it's one of those marvelous, original comedies of the past few years, and should be seen on VoD. 8.5/10

It's hard to relay the joy I felt watching The One I Love, Charlie McDowell's first full-length feature. It's the kind of film you'll remember for a long time because it breaks so many boundaries. It's the kind of film Spike Jonze might come up with, minus some of the academic pretensions he sometimes clings to.

The trailer for The One I Love is almost perfect. It doesn't spoil the premise of the film, and neither will I.

Mark Duplass (who also produced along with his bro, of course) and Elizabeth Moss are excellently cast as Ethan and Sophie, two not-so-newlyweds who are encountering all too typical problems "relating."

At the suggestion of their therapist (Ted Danson, in a just-right cameo) they spend a weekend at a rather large rental house, unsuspecting of the lengths their counselor is willing to go to in order to motivate them to "connect."

The One I Love is a high-wire act by anyone's standards. The script is especially brilliant, but it doesn't spit its brilliance in your face constantly and then ask for your approval with laughter or the occasional tear. Instead, it dabbles in elements of Sci-Fi and Fantasy but doesn't let the main characters (or the audience) off easily by subjugating the human story to questions of logistics. In other words, this isn't a movie for the compulsively left-brained and anal. The performances and plot are engaging enough to make you accept this often absurd but always engaging film for what it is.

It takes guts to break the rules, even more talent to make it work. With The One I Love, Charlie McDowell seems destined to reprove the adage that talent runs in the family.

Boy, was that so not what I expected. That's all I'm going to say though, anything else would be a disservice to those who haven't seen it. All I'm going to say is that it's a splendid film. Endlessly intriguing with some superb writing and directing, and two absolutely fantastic leading performances. I remember Mark Duplass from Your Sister's Sister, and he's even better here. A guy to watch out for. The main reason I sought this out was because of Elisabeth Moss, who's already given one of my all-time favorite female performance on television with Mad Men. I was pretty excited to see her for the first time in a film, and as a fan, she still surprised me. She's enormously talented, and her work here isn't unlike her work in Mad Men. She's subdued, and always giving the impression that she's portraying so many different facets of her character beneath the surface. If Duplass is great, Moss adds that extra dimension that makes her work here nothing short of outstanding. It's the best female performance I've seen all year, if maybe only rivaled by Johansson's turn in Under The Skin. And, well, the entire film is one of the best I've seen this year. I strongly recommend this, and recommend everyone sees it without knowing too much about it.

"We had two completely separate experiences with each other that neither of us remembers." Ethan (Duplass) and Sophie (Moss) are married and are having problems. When their therapist recommends a weekend getaway they jump at the chance. The night starts off great with a romantic dinner but then things start to happen to each other without the other one remembering. What starts off as confusion becomes something that no one can or wants to believe. This is a movie that can not be spoiled. The trailer does not give the main idea away and if you have seen it please don't tell anyone else about it. The only way to describe this is that it has a very Twilight Zone feel to it. This is not a typical romantic comedy or even drama. What I will say is that this is one of the most original movies that have come out in a while and I absolutely loved it. This is a movie that must be seen and recommended but not described. Much like the sixth sense it will be ruined if you know the twist. Overall, one of the most original movies to come out in a long time. I loved it and highly recommend this. Just do not tell anyone about the twist. I give this an A.