The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them (2014)

One couple's story as they try to reclaim the life and love they once knew and pick up the pieces of a past that may be too far gone.

Director:

Ned Benson

Writer:

Ned Benson

Stars:

James McAvoy, Jessica Chastain, Viola Davis

2 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
James McAvoy	...	Conor Ludlow
Jessica Chastain	...	Eleanor Rigby
Nina Arianda	...	Alexis
Viola Davis	...	Professor Friedman
Bill Hader	...	Stuart
Ciarán Hinds	...	Spencer Ludlow
Isabelle Huppert	...	Mary Rigby
William Hurt	...	Julian Rigby
Jess Weixler	...	Katy Rigby
Nikki M. James	...	Sia
Jeremy Shamos	...	Evangelist
Wyatt Ralff	...	Philip
Brendan Donaldson	...	Casimir Waiter
Daron Stewart	...	Guy Walking on Bridge (as Daron P. Stewart)
June Miller	...	Elderly Woman

Storyline

Following the death of their only offspring, an infant son named Cody, married New Yorkers Conor Ludlow and Eleanor Rigby - a struggling restaurateur and an academic working on her Ph.D. in Anthropology before Cody arrived in their lives - hit a rough spot in their relationship. Although still loving Conor, El is uncertain if she can bear what Conor represents to her and bear the grief even if Conor is no longer in her life. Following an incident, El decides to disappear from Conor's life, she taking refuge at the suburban home of her parents Julian and Mary Rigby, an academic himself and a musician respectively. Just to keep her mind active and off the thought of Conor or Cody, Julian suggests to El that she return to college and he pulls some strings for El possibly to enter into his colleague Professor Lilian Friedman's class. Despite being a therapist himself, he also tries to get El to see a therapist to deal with her grief. Meanwhile, Conor is facing his own emotional and ...

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Plot Keywords:

lecture | class | reference to rene descartes | note | passing a note | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

12 September 2014 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Story of Love

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$66,941, 14 September 2014

Gross USA:

$587,774

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$985,007

Company Credits

Production Co:

Unison Films, Kim and Jim Productions, Division Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

123 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Ironically The Beatles' song "Eleanor Rigby" is not performed on the film's soundtrack.

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Quotes

Conor Ludlow: All I want is a chance to just talk it out. After that you can disappear to wherever it is you disappear to.

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Connections

Referenced in Estrenos Críticos: Torrente 5, El Corredor del Laberinto... (2014)

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Soundtracks

So In Love
Written by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
Performed by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark

User Reviews

Fantastic performances from Chastain and McAvoy, but felt like an incomplete film

"All I want is a chance to just talk it out. After that you can disappear to wherever it is you disappear to."

To be honest I had no idea what this film was about before going into it. All I knew is that it starred Jessica Chastain and James McAvoy, two of the most talented actors I've seen in the past few years. The title had me fooled because I was expecting this sort of suspenseful thriller similar to Gone Girl. During the first scenes I was lamenting that Chastain would probably only be in a few scenes since she would eventually disappear, but what a fool I was. This was actually a romantic drama (or should I say anti-romantic drama?) with two strong lead performances centering on a couple who have experimented a tragedy in their lives and aren't capable of coping with it together. They've become distant and love seems to be only a far away memory. In a sense it has a similar style as Blue Valentine where you get flashbacks of the couple when they were in love contrasting with their present situation. While watching this film I had no idea that director Ned Benson had actually made two movies about The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby from the view point of each of the characters (His and Hers). The version I was watching was a compilation of both those films, summarized in two hours going back and forth from both their view points. It was no wonder I felt like something was missing in this story. If you were to watch both original versions of Benson's film the running time would be over three hours long, but in Them the film is cut into a two hour film. I never felt like I got a sense of who these characters were in this version and I wonder how much it had to do with the fact that so much was cut out of the film. After experiencing Benson's two hour joint film I have no intentions of watching the separate films because I was incredibly disappointed with how vague and void this character study felt. By the end of the film I couldn't relate to either character and felt like they did around their parents when they had no clue what they were talking about (they both use this same line towards their parents in at least a couple of occasions).

Despite the slow pace of the film (the two hours actually felt like three) I was still hooked with the story expecting it to head somewhere. Jessica Chastain and James McAvoy are such great actors that they held my interest in the film and they were a pleasure to watch. The story unfolds in such a way that you don't get much of a sense as to what is happening. As we get some flashbacks we begin to understand what triggered the couple to grow apart from one another, but some things are missing. There are also very strange relationships that Chastain's character has with her parents (Isabelle Huppert and William Hurt). She also shares a few scenes with a Professor she begins to take classes with played by Viola Davis, but those scenes also felt disconnected from the entire film. The same thing happened with McCoy's character and the odd relationship he has with his father (Ciaran Hinds). He owns a restaurant/bar and works with his close friend played by Bill Hader with whom he also shares some strange and misplaced scenes together. Perhaps it was the way that both films were joined together, but I felt like something important was left out and I wasn't able to engage with the characters despite enjoying the performances. Chastain is fantastic and continues to get better over time. She has had stellar roles this year in Interstellar, A Most Violent Year, and now this. Perhaps her breakout role came in 2011 with Take Shelter and The Tree of Life, but she had already collaborated with Ned Benson a year before for one of his short films, The Westerners. If you are a fan of Chastain's work I'd recommend this film, but otherwise I'd suggest you to watch the two separate films because Them felt incoherent and incomplete at times.