By The Sea
Don't Go! Too much of too little.
Couple's French retreat to repair.
Most relationships are odd, in their way, but perhaps none moreso that the union of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie Pitt. First, famously falling in love on the set of Mr & Mrs Smith (while, of course, playing a married couple); becoming known (undoubtedly unwillingly) as the shudder-inducing “Brangelia”; their adoption or delivery of numerous children around the world; humanitarian, charitable and candid breast cancer awareness efforts; civil rights support; and – oh yeah – making a few films, some of which even caught the attention of the Academy. It’s been quite a decade. The latest twist is their second cinematic outing as a married couple, By The Sea. This time, it is also written, directed and produced by Jolie Pitt, making it very much a personal project.
It sees them glide onto the 1970's French Riviera and install themselves into a local hotel that is, quite literally, by the sea. From there, their apparent, haughty glamour is revealed to be a facade, covering entrenched animosity between the moustashioed, chinoed, renowned but struggling writer Roland (Pitt); and Vanessa, his wilted and traumatised, but still flowing and postured, ex-dancer wife (Jolie Pitt). Their mutual passive aggression is fuelled by Roland’s alcoholic and Vanessa’s pharmaceutical self-medication (with whisky provided by the local philosophical barkeep (Niels Arestrup, A Prophet)). Every cigarette lit with impunity by either threatens to ignite their entire, combustible discord like a booze-soaked rag. In the next room, sexually-prolific newlywed guests Léa (Mélanie Laurent, Inglorious Basterds) and Francois (Melvil Poupaud, Fou d’Amour) initially appear to exacerbate the issues by accentuating to Vanessa the life she and Roland long appear to have lost. But the warring couple begin to rekindle some feelings of romance by watching the young couple through a hole in wall as they copulate, night after night. Things begin to get (more) complicated, however, when Vanessa increasingly seeks to influence her voyeuristic experience by imposing herself on her neighbours.
From the beginning, there is a pleasant stillness to the film. It is warmly shot and captures the romance of the time and place in soft, Mediterranean hues of blue and yellow. The tension between Vanessa and Roland is immediate and mysterious; ambiguous about which direction it will catapult us in. There are cutting exchanges between the couple, and satisfying subtitled, French-language conversations about love and life between Roland and the bartender, for which Pitt acquits himself well. It starts with much promise, like a resolute emotional ballet between two powerful performers tensely and precariously shuffling to and fro; always painfully, but necessarily, en point.
Sadly, the ankles of By The Sea gradually weaken. The slow but strong initial pace turns to inertia as the tense tightrope slacks off into a long, sagging, muted yarn. By the end of its two hours, near-boredom sets in as the storyline and script become jading and lacking intent, incapable of being salvaged by the craft of the costumes and elegance of the highly-stylised cinematography. There is, mercifully, a level of intrigue that is maintained throughout in the clearly committed performances of Jolie Pitt and Pitt, but some of that is inevitably driven by knowledge of their off-screen partnership and the consequential curiosity of their on-screen interaction, rather than purely enjoying their (albeit thorough) characterisation. It is disappointing, since it began with so much potential.
Sadly, the ankles of By The Sea gradually weaken. The slow but strong initial pace turns to inertia as the tense tightrope slacks off into a long, sagging, muted yarn. By the end of its two hours, near-boredom sets in as the storyline and script become jading and lacking intent, incapable of being salvaged by the craft of the costumes and elegance of the highly-stylised cinematography. There is, mercifully, a level of intrigue that is maintained throughout in the clearly committed performances of Jolie Pitt and Pitt, but some of that is inevitably driven by knowledge of their off-screen partnership and the consequential curiosity of their on-screen interaction, rather than purely enjoying their (albeit thorough) characterisation. It is disappointing, since it began with so much potential.
Given the level of control held by Jolie Pitt in its creation, it is tempting to call the film “self-indulgent”, but it would be fairer to say that it “lacks restraint”. Its weaknesses come from being too diffuse, at times melodramatic, and lengthy. If shorter, the tension may have held and we could be calling it an arthouse masterpiece. There are many attractive elements to the film which suggest it could have been much more than its outcome, but the difficulties of one person being an all-encompassing auteur have shown themselves in By The Sea.
So don’t go. As you might expect from Jolie Pitt and her husband, it is a good-looking film, but one that fails to hold the attention beyond its promising opening.
So don’t go. As you might expect from Jolie Pitt and her husband, it is a good-looking film, but one that fails to hold the attention beyond its promising opening.
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