Confusions of an Unmarried Couple

The Butler Brothers have once again produced a very well-made and highly enjoyable film. Having seen their first two films (Alive and Lubricated, and Bums) I was eager to get my hands on Confusions of an Unmarried Couple, and it certainly met the high expectations I've set for these talented filmmakers. Confusions is a very entertaining, very smart and undoubtedly very funny film. The dialogue between Dan (Brett Butler) and Lisa (Naomi Johnson) is incredibly well written and executed. The process of learning both sides of their story contributes to the development of an engaging, and amusing story, which oftentimes switches from very poignant moments to downright hilarious moments. I purchased this film in Toronto, and have since brought it out West to Vancouver, where I know I'm doing a great service to my friends by introducing them to the genius works of the Butler Brothers. Unsurprisingly, everyone has loved this film so far! One of my favourites!

I loved this film. I attended the Indiana University of South Bend Independent Video and Film Festival and was so impressed with this film that was created by a couple of great guys (had the chance to speak with them a bit - very genuine). The movie was so funny and entertaining. I already had it in my mind who I was going to vote for for the audience choice award but then I watched this film and changed my vote. Watch it if you can! There were some laugh out loud funny moments. Many actually. The acting was done in such a way that it didn't really seem like they were acting. Some of the dialogue and banter back and forth is just "spot on" with some relationship drama that I have experienced.

The Butler Bros. continue to amaze me. As filmmakers, they have a mental library of great directors they draw upon to make their own works. More importantly, I never feel that they are unworthy of the significant comparisons.

Take the Bros. newest film Confusions of an Unmarried Couple, for example. The influences of John Cassavetes are unmistakable. It's easily the strongest film to date from two of the strongest voices in indie film. But that also means it's time for them to step it up to the next level of film-making.

Confusions follows Dan, who months after finding his girlfriend Lisa in bed with another girl decides to collect his belongings from the apartment they shared. Apparently looking for a confrontation, Dan makes sure that Lisa is home before he barges in. An argument, months in the making, it lives up to everything a knock-down, drag out relationship fight should be, right down the sex part.

Confusions is the Butler Bros. most inspired and most flawed achievement. It's inspired because the Brothers take their usual topic (a break-up) and turn it into a fresh cinéma vérité relationship film. The life and intimacy in the production that differentiates the Brothers' work from the films that inspire them.

But the Brothers have outgrown the style that made them famous. In an interview with co-director Brett Butler, Brett said that he and his brother Jason have matured, but their characters haven't. It's apparent on screen. The story doesn't need the Butlers' signature humor, which is rooted in debates groups of friends, not two lovers, would have. Some of the lines just fall flat. In spite of that, the film holds together.

Maybe it's the aggressive intimacy that makes the film work. The Brothers are able to dig up conscious and subconscious insecurities in their characters. The devastating honesty in the interviews with Lisa and Dan (made into a documentary by Dan's fictional brother) goes beyond the pop culture references to Sixteen Candles or Angelina Jolie.

I would hate to pull another Kevin Smith comparison out for the Butler Bros., but I will only as a warning. Confusions of an Unmarried Couple, through all of its inspiration and artistry, could end up being the Butlers' Chasing Amy if they don't proceed cautiously from here. Sure, they don't have Ben Affleck, but Confusions is the type of soul-searching project that can make or break a filmmaker.

Before he made Clerks 2, Smith's films had an empty quality to them based in his inability to leave something behind. When he made Clerks 2, he wasn't just revisiting; he was growing. The Butler Bros. are on the verge. They've already proved they are ready to grow beyond their first two productions with the refreshing addition of Ryan Noel as sound and music guy. All I'm asking now is for the Brothers to move past what they are doing and finally make that indie masterpiece that I know they have in them.

As a guy who has been in a committed relationship for about two years now, I find myself, like many people out there I am sure, seeking out films and articles or even songs that I can relate to with my own little struggles. The good times, the hard times, the lovey-dovey times. Confusions of An Unmarried Couple displays a pair of people about as far away from my personal relationship as possible - but it is one of those films where you don't have to be either character 100%; you just have to see enough of yourself in them, or in your partner, or in your friends to really understand and feel where the film is coming from. It is an abrupt, to the point, no-nonsense take on one couple and their dealing with an awkward situation where one member was caught cheating on the other. As you can imagine, intense drama is to follow and it most certainly does; but not without hints of comedy here and there. Actually, there are a bit more than just hints scattered throughout. Confusions is actually borderline hilarious. Two people who spend the entire film trying to figure the other person out, their motives and why they did what they did doesn't sound like a laugh riot - but the Butler brothers, the duo responsible for the film, balance it out and deliver one hell of an offbeat comedy. Delivering a film with flashes of Wes Anderson, Woody Allen and even Richard Linklater; showing once again that a film can be about the simple drama between two people and still carry as much life to it as any film with a vast cast of characters. The thing that surprises though is how the film doesn't take itself serious, and yet gives us characters who very much do - and throws them together to combat one another for basically the audience's amusement. I love you, I hate you and I'm going to yell at you until I love you.

I wouldn't go about calling Confusions a "quaint" film, but there's something very likable about it and even likable about these characters who ultimately have done horrible things to one another for reasons they aren't even very sure of. Who still, even after months apart, find themselves battling each other simply because they can't let one another go. I am a big fan of high drama split between a small cast of characters, and have always been interested in cinema that felt like it could be taking place right up on a stage in any theater in the world - and that drew me into Confusions of an Unmarried Couple from the start, even when just reading up on it. I have always loved films like The Odd Couple or The Apartment, where the characters were the main focus of the film and the performances were the most important feature. Confusions takes up this cause, and delivers a film that would probably make a spectacular stage play - but one would have to change out all the little intricacies that make this such a "movie". The actually story based segments of the film, where we watch our young couple battle back and forth, is juxtaposed between videotapes of themselves giving interview confusions of just why the relationship failed and why what happened did indeed happen. It isn't explained who is giving the interviews, who is behind the camera or for what reasons; but that isn't really the important part. This is the way the filmmakers truly let us into the world of these characters and our way of better understanding them. Being that the two of them are so confused about one another, and people plan things a lot better than they actually are able to say them aloud - we the audience are left to decipher just what is what in this complex and crazy world of relationships gone sour.

Overall, I found myself a big fan of the film and I think the Butler brothers have the opportunity to become either very large and respected figureheads in the independent community or important filmmakers who lay on the outskirts of independence and the Hollywood community. Much like Linklater, Anderson or the Coens. That seems all up to them, as with original ideas and presentation are in short supply in this day and age - and I see great things coming from these guys. I personally can't wait to see more from them.

Confusions of an Unmarried Couple is like the independent antidote to the sickening Hollywood rom-com. This is a funny and intelligent look at the dysfunctional relationship between two real people, no sugar coating, no bull and lots of laughs.

We open with a dishevelled Dan as he lies rotting on the couch, drinking beer, wallowing in bitterness and scratching the days since his break up with Lisa off his calendar. Dan and Lisa were in a relationship, in fact they had just gotten engaged when Dan came home from work one night and caught Lisa in bed with another woman. He left her and we pick up the story a while later when Dan decides to go back and confront her.

The film plays out in a series of recorded interviews, documentary style, with both characters and then the main thread of action which focuses on Dan's return to their home and the resulting conversation which quickly descends into an emotional argument. Dan and Lisa are the only two characters in the film but there is easily enough going on between them to hold your interest. The documentary style blurs into the action and is surprisingly effective mainly because the script is really sharp and witty.

The film was made by the Butler Brothers, Brett and Jason, and Brett stars as Dan. These guys are genuine independent film makers with very little in the way of budget and other than the music they seem to have done the whole thing themselves.

I'd highly recommend this, it made me laugh out loud more than once.