The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Her

The Disppearance Of Eleanor Rigby (nothing to do with the Beatles song except a brief reference by a character) is a thoughtful, exceptionally well made film about a couple dealing with an immense tragedy that has put a weight on their relationship, forcing them to take some time apart. James Macavoy, an actor who continues to impress, and Jessica Chastain, always amazing, play the two with diligent feeling and palpable hurt. Now, there's three different edits of the film. His, which is mostly his side of events following the breakup, where Macavoy takes center stage and we see his life. Hers, which shows us where Chastain ends up, and how she is coping. The third version, Theirs, is a truncated version of both stories, leaving out a lot of key scenes and important beats. His and Hers together come out to about four hours of movie watching, but if you're going to invest yourself in their story, you owe it to you self to watch them both, starting with His. Because there is four hours of their story, they are allowed to develop and interact in a fashion that feels far more genuine and lifelike than a rushed two and a half hour movie. Macavoy is an aspiring cook who runs a small café with his friend and sous chef (Bill Hader, fiercely funny) and yearns for Chastain, angry at life for throwing them the curveball it did. He moves in with his father (Ciaran Hinds gives phenomenal work), a successful restauranteer. Chastain moves in with her folks as well, played by Isabelle Huppert and William Hurt. Hurt, who hasn't been around that much lately, makes up for that by anchoring a key scene with Chastain. It's interesting that he gets to play her father in a film, because they both share a measured, baleful, hypnotic grace in their work, and seeing them interacting was a treat for me, being an immense fan of both their work. Now, the film is more than the sum of its parts, but I mean that in a good way, since the parts themselves are so brilliantly done as well. It's what we expect from the romantic drama Avenue, but because we see an extended fluidity to the work, a narrative free from the fractured conventions of usual editing styles, we feel right there with our two protagonists, every step of the way. More films should break the mold and try to be more than just segmented movies, and use immersion techniques like this to draw us in. Coupled with that unique method of delivery comes a sincere commitment from actors and director alike, to explore an aspect of life and relationships that many see as unpleasant or upsetting, yet can still make for beautiful work. Well worth a watch.

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

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.