A beautifully written film. Very well-cast. Beautifully acted. And sometimes it's nice, and necessary, to juxtapose life's observations with concrete examples.
I don't know if I'm giving anything away, but here goes:
Very 'put-together' husband asks very 'put-together' wife for a divorce. After wife's initial barb, her first reaction is: I'm taking the kids to Mom's. Natural, "I'm going to my mother's with the kids!" Sounds normal, right? We learn very quickly, there are issues between wife and Mom. This is where the film's strength lies. Even though she has deliberately stayed away for years, instinct has kicked in, against all intellect, and she needs to go back to where her issues took root. All the necessary characters are there to guide each person through their journey of discovery and road to self-awareness. But, the subtleties are there as well.
Superb acting nods to Jane Fonda, Catherine Keener, & Jeffrey Dean Morgan as usual. A couple of brilliant small parts for Rosanna Arquette and Joyce Van Patten. But, also, HUGE kudos to Elizabeth Olsen & Nat Wolff for outstanding performances (whether they receive recognition from awards shows, or not), this film would not have succeeded without them.
I don't know if I'm giving anything away, but here goes:
Very 'put-together' husband asks very 'put-together' wife for a divorce. After wife's initial barb, her first reaction is: I'm taking the kids to Mom's. Natural, "I'm going to my mother's with the kids!" Sounds normal, right? We learn very quickly, there are issues between wife and Mom. This is where the film's strength lies. Even though she has deliberately stayed away for years, instinct has kicked in, against all intellect, and she needs to go back to where her issues took root. All the necessary characters are there to guide each person through their journey of discovery and road to self-awareness. But, the subtleties are there as well.
Superb acting nods to Jane Fonda, Catherine Keener, & Jeffrey Dean Morgan as usual. A couple of brilliant small parts for Rosanna Arquette and Joyce Van Patten. But, also, HUGE kudos to Elizabeth Olsen & Nat Wolff for outstanding performances (whether they receive recognition from awards shows, or not), this film would not have succeeded without them.