Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Anton Lesser | ... | Rav Krushka | |
Alessandro Nivola | ... | Dovid Kuperman | |
Allan Corduner | ... | Moshe Hartog | |
Nicholas Woodeson | ... | Rabbi Goldfarb | |
David Fleeshman | ... | Yosef Kirschbaum | |
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Steve Furst | ... | Dr Gideon Rigler |
Rachel Weisz | ... | Ronit Krushka | |
Trevor Allan Davies | ... | Tattooed Man | |
Sophia Brown | ... | Photographic Studio Assistant | |
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Anthony Dowding | ... | Man in Bar |
Bernice Stegers | ... | Fruma Hartog | |
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Clara Francis | ... | Hinda |
Rachel McAdams | ... | Esti Kuperman | |
Lia Cohen | ... | Rina | |
Cara Horgan | ... | Miss Scheinberg |
From a screenplay by Sebastián Lelio and Rebecca Lenkiewicz, the film follows a woman as she returns to her Orthodox Jewish community that shunned her decades earlier for an attraction to a female childhood friend. Once back, their passions reignite as they explore the boundaries of faith and sexuality. Based on Naomi Alderman's book, the film stars Rachel Weisz, Rachel McAdams and Alessandro Nivola. Written by Bleecker Street
I wanted to like this movie. It's rare that A-list actresses sign on to play lovers, and rare to see romance between women on the big screen. But a lot of things didn't quite fit, from the editing, to the storyline, to the music, to the pacing.
The score: whimsical at times, even in dramatic/tense scenes, which felt completely inappropriate. The score seemed like it belonged in a bizarre children's movie, but yet the singing scenes were very dark and sad/somber-sounding. This movie clearly took itself very seriously, so why the carnival music in parts? The cast: good acting overall, no complaints. The story: decent premise. A Rabbi's death brings together old flames in a strictly orthodox Jewish London community, and tensions rise, as well as feelings. But the end...no thanks. Editing/pacing: abrupt at times and feeling disjointed, yet also slow and lingering too long in scenes that dragged. So many directors think that if you are slow and have long, tedious scenes, you will be considered a genius for being artsy and understated. That just isn't how it works. Character development: eh. This movie really would have benefitted from more than just a few words about the past, but scenes depicting more of the history and story between the women. I want to see more depth with these women, but it does end up feeling one-dimensional due to the script and/or editing.
In sum, even today, in 2018, 9 out of 10 movies about women who love each other end with suicide/murder, a woman going back to a man, a woman cheating on her partner with a man (or woman), or some other equally unforgivable outcome, and I say unforgivable because movie producers love to portray gay/bi women as tortured and unable to experience a healthy same-sex relationship. Guess which one this movie falls under, because I won't spoil it...
My advice, skip this and re-watch Carol. I felt like this one wasted my time.