It begins with fractured clips of the same woman (Rachel Weisz) in multiple professions, going by multiple names. That’s a discombobulated start for a straightforward, bluesy drama about the identities and life-paths we choose for ourselves. The always-interesting Michael Shannon stars as Tom, a New York academic celebrating his birthday at a time of uncertainty, as his wife (Azita Ghanizada) is contemplating a career-related move to California. One of their friends brings a date to the party, Alice (Weisz), a self-assured woman whom Tom recognizes from his past—except her name wasn't Alice then. Through much engrossing walk-and-talk action (shades of the
Before Sunrise trilogy), director Joshua Marston (
Maria Full of Grace) has Tom—and us—come to see the appeal in Alice’s untethered way of life, her liberating gift for becoming whomever she pleases. Weisz plays Alice as a determinedly free-spirited polymath, not a careless flake, while Shannon’s Tom is bemused, annoyed and fascinated by her. It might be better as a conversation-starter than as cinema, but the film’s astute central performances elevate it.
By
Eric D. Snider