The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Her

I would rate this under "Life sucks and then you die." Tackling the death of a child is probably one of the most difficult tasks of a writer. I don't think this film provided a good picture of either the true depth of grief or the resolution to carry on with life, in spite of it.

However, it has some tender moments: the couple's move-out scene and the scene with main character's dad (William Hurt). The mother was just puzzling. The pace was slow and the friendship (if you'd call it that) with the professor was unnecessary. Nothing was resolved.

The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby…Her (2013)

With a title that is suspiciously catchy (as in the Beatles song) I expected a quirky comedy, or a weak independent flick. Instead I found a seriously good, thoughtful, straight ahead movie about a young woman facing a huge crisis in her life. Around her is a family that seems more or less normal, and friends who seem supportive in the ways we all expect. And it turns out this is one of three probing movies in a triptych about this difficult normality.

It is the cracks in our normal world this movie tries to explore. Like how the small things in family and friends can rub the wrong way, or how little flaws in a person's make-up can lead to small disasters, which accumulate. It's all beautifully told, with subtle acting all around including a minor but gentle presence as the woman's father by William Hurt and an odd but eventually important role as the woman's professor by Viola Davis.

It is Jessica Chastain, for sure, who makes this movie soar. She's subtle enough, underacting as needed, and physical enough, moving through the scenes with snap (including the startling first scene), she keeps the movie especially alive. In some unexpected way it might be compared to the more amazing Frances Ha, though there must be better examples of following a young woman through her struggles for purpose and place in an ordinary, contemporary world. On difference is certainly that the title Character (Eleanor) has suffered a huge disaster and doesn't quite show it. She seems out of sorts, but not on the edge of ruin. Chastain is somehow remarkable, anyway, though, playing her part with feeling but not overplaying it. It's the writing and direction that needed a little tilting into reality.

If you are wondering about the other two movies, read on: the idea is not exactly new, but still adds depth. The Him and Her movies show a series of events from two different points of view, which of course is how life works. This version (Her) is from the woman's point of view, and is maybe the best for me because I really like Chastain.

Beware of the third movie, however—which has the suffix: Them. This is a mash of the first two, a shortened single version that apparently lacks the potentially probing aspects of the two halves, which are sometimes released together as a marathon version that is not the combined Them.

I suggest giving this one an honest try. It's really better than some of the complaints if taken just as it stands, alone. Whether you should then see the Him version then depends on you.

This film tells the story of a married couple who separates because of tremendous grief after losing their child. This grieving process is told from her perspective.

"The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Her" is great because Jessica Chastain is brilliant in portraying a woman tormented by loss. We see that her interaction with friends is affected, and family ties are disrupted. The scene of her and her sister struggling on the floor is very effective. It's almost heartbreaking to watch it.

My only complain is that it is just to similar to "The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them". It's almost like watching the same film again. Of course, that's not the fault of ",The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Her", but the fault of "The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them" not using a balanced proportion of footage.

I began watching this movie, expecting it to be another romantic flick, but boy was I wrong. There is nothing 'film-like' about the movie, it actually seems like a slice of life itself, and that is what makes it so beautiful. Both the co-stars, James and Jessica, have a terrific chemistry and their acting is absolutely breathtaking. Even the supporting actors (including the legendary Viola Davis) have a titular role throughout the film. The direction of the movie seems a bit haphazard and one might find their attention slightly wavering had it not been for the gripping performances by the actors. I do believe that 'Him' and 'Her' complement each other well, however, 'Them' seemed redundant in comparison to the other two.

Continuing on from the frustration experienced in the saga's Him component, Her struggles to engage the audience in a meaningful way despite it featuring an assured Jessica Chastain performance and a few genuine moments of emotional power centred around loss and regret.

A large portion of frustration towards this entry stems from the fact that even though we do feel for Eleanor as a person we can't fully commit to liking her and she remains a cold and sometimes undeniably unlikeable figure throughout this components run time. She's a woman dealing with a great personal tragedy and a conflicted mindset, yet she's also someone that seems unappreciative of the friends around her and their helpful suggestions or ideas, in other words Eleanor comes off as someone who is to self-assured to see the positives around her.

Somewhere deep down in both Him and Her is a great film and one feels that if the best of both chapters were combined into one singular film it would be a much more recommendable if still slightly unoriginal tale, and perhaps that is the reason Them came into existence. With some nice turns by McAvoy and Chastain, these films remain watchable but never reach the heights they so easily could've had the hard slog journey been worth it in the final payoff.

2 Diet Cokes out of 5