Disobedience (2017)

A woman returns to her Orthodox Jewish community that shunned her for her attraction to a female childhood friend. Once back, their passions reignite as they explore the boundaries of faith and sexuality.

Director:

Sebastián Lelio

Writers:

Sebastián Lelio, Rebecca Lenkiewicz

Stars:

Rachel Weisz, Rachel McAdams, Alessandro Nivola

4 wins & 20 nominations.

Cast

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
Steve Furst	...	Dr Gideon Rigler
Rachel Weisz	...	Ronit Krushka
Trevor Allan Davies	...	Tattooed Man
Sophia Brown	...	Photographic Studio Assistant
Anthony Dowding	...	Man in Bar
Bernice Stegers	...	Fruma Hartog
Clara Francis	...	Hinda
Rachel McAdams	...	Esti Kuperman
Lia Cohen	...	Rina
Cara Horgan	...	Miss Scheinberg

Storyline

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.

---

Plot Keywords:

lesbian relationship | london england | spitting in someone's mouth | scandal | infidelity | 

---

Taglines:

Love is an act of defiance.

---

Genres:

Drama | Romance

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some strong sexuality

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Site

Country:

Ireland UK USA

Language:

English Hebrew

Release Date:

27 April 2018 (USA)

Also Known As:

Disobedience

Filming Locations:

Golders Green, London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$6,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$237,393, 29 April 2018, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$3,480,702

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$5,917,917, 15 July 2018

Company Credits

Production Co:

Braven Films, Element Pictures, Film 4

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

On September 29, 2016, it was reported that Rachel Weisz would star in and produce an adaptation of the Naomi Alderman novel Disobedience.

---

Goofs

When Ronit and Esti board the subway to inner London and exit out, the Steadicam operator can be seen reflected off the bus as it drives by.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Rav Krushka: In the beginning, Hashem made three types of creatures, the angels, the beasts, and the human beings. The angels, He made from His pure word. The angels have no will to do evil. They cannot deviate for one moment from His purpose. The beasts have only their instincts to guide them. They, too, follow the commands of their maker. The Torah states that Hashem spent almost six whole days of creation fashioning these creatures. Then, just before sunset, He took a small quantity of earth...

---

Connections

Referenced in Late Night with Seth Meyers: Kate Beckinsale/Colin Hanks/Allison Miller (2016)

---

Soundtracks

Im Eshkakhekh
Arrangement by Eliot Alderman (as E. Alderman)
Performed by Eliot Alderman, Edward Hughes, Matthew Pochin, Joseph Thompson, Yoav Oved, Benjamin Seifert, Gabriel Gottlieb, Harry Style, Aaron Isaac

User Reviews

Disobedience (2018)

Yes, there was another film that came out during Avengers: Infinity War release week. I was immediately excited for Disobedience as soon as I heard about it. I mean how could you not be? Rachel Weisz and Rachel McAdams (who I am infatuated with) in a film about a forbidden romance? I was so in. I did see Sebastián Lelio's A Fantastic Woman earlier this year, so I was really pleasantly surprised to hear he had another project out so soon. I can draw parallels between the two films and while Disobedience is not perfect and has lapses its well acted and has an interesting look at a religious community being scarred by a "scandalous" affair.

The film is about a woman who returns to a very strict Orthodox Jewish community when her father dies. While there she sees her former lover who is now married. The problem is the fact that people in the Jewish community do not know about the relationship that has occured and also because a lesbian affair is frowned upon in the community. Both women also must deal with harboring the feelings that they have for each other, while attempting to maintain their standing in the Jewish community.

The first thing that's instantly noticeable about the film is its depth into an Orthodox Jewish world. The films backdrop is its strict nature and how a lesbian romance must be hidden from the community. Rachel Weisz and Rachel McAdams are great in this as expected, and have great chemistry. Their intimate scenes (which are very very intimate) are believable and are a strong point in selling the romance. I always knew McAdams was a talent since she had a good showing on season 2 of True Detective.

The film reminded me of A Fantastic Woman in a way because in that film there is a struggle to accept a transgender person, although the implications in that film are more hostile. I also couldn't help but compare this film to Carol (which is one of the very best films of the decade). Its nowhere near the levels of Carol but does a decent job for what the film is. There are lapses where the film seems slow and it suffers from its best moments being purely when Weisz and McAdams share the screen. Its still a worthy watch, just don't expect anything spectacular.

6/10