MOVIES
BY RICK LEVIN
RETREAT FROM
REALITY
Couples therapy enters another
dimension in The One I Love
I
really, really, really want to tell you what happens in
The One I Love, the smart and slithery new movie by
director Charlie McDowell, but I can’t. To reveal the
device at the center of this cinematic mind-fuck about
a married couple on the skids and their surreal,
disarming and ultimately transformative experiences during
a weekend retreat suggested by their therapist would be
tantamount to breaking the first rule of Fight Club (“Don’t
talk about fight club”) or spilling the beans on Rosebud in
Citizen Kane (it’s the sled). Spoilers, even when they’re
floated in sheer enthusiasm, are nothing but sour grapes
— alert or no alert. I won’t do it.
Instead, I’ll talk around this movie, in terms abstract but
hopefully still helpful. I can tell you, safely, about the
opening ten minutes of The One I Love, which introduce us
to Ethan (Mark Duplass) and Sophie (Elisabeth Moss), who
are attempting to reinvigorate their ebbing romantic
connection by recreating the night they met, when they
jumped into a neighbor’s swimming pool and got caught.
This time around, their excited jump into the pool is met
with no resistance; they just float there, waiting to get
busted, and as it becomes apparent that the neighbor is not
home, we witness the mute, intimate disappointment that
sucks the air out of long-term relationships.
Enter the marriage counselor (Ted Danson) who,
witnessing up close the dire state of Ethan and Sophie’s
sexual stalemate, urges them to drive out to a country estate
ELISABE TH MOSS
AND MARK DUPL ASS
for a little romantic getaway. Every couple he’s sent that
way, he says, has come back renewed. They take the bait.
And what happens out at that weekend retreat — a lush
colonial complete with a separate “guest house” and a sort
of home studio called “The Coop” — is indeed “renewing,”
in the same way that, say, a gargantuan dose of LSD when
you least expect it is renewing.
The first half of the film is clever and insightful, as the
strange happenings at the retreat bring Ethan and Sophie
face-to-face with the impossible expectations they’ve
placed on each other and the manner in which those
expectations have calcified into resentment and
dissatisfaction. And just as the conceit begins to wear thin,
AS ABOVE, SO BELOW (DIG) (R)
11:50, 2:25, 5:05, 7:50, 10:25
THE EXPENDABLES 3 (DIG)
(PG-13)
11:55, 3:35, 7:00, 10:00
FRANK MILLER’S SIN CITY DAME
TO KILL FOR (DIG) (R)
4:55, 10:20
GHOSTBUSTERS (1984) (DIG) (PG)
4:45, 10:10
GIVER, THE (DIG) (PG-13)
11:35, 2:05, 4:35, 7:20, 9:50
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY (3D)
(PG-13)
3D PRICING: $3.00 UPCHARGE ALL
TICKETS
11:30, 1:00, 4:00, 5:25, 8:50, 10:00
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY (DIG)
(PG-13)
2:30, 7:00
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2
(DIG) (PG)
11:15, 2:00, 4:40, 7:15, 9:55
THE HUNDRED-FOOT JOURNEY
(DIG) (PG)
12:50, 3:45, 7:05, 10:05
BLENDED (PG-13)
11:45, 2:20, 4:55, 7:30, 10:05
DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE
APES (PG-13)
12:35, 3:35, 7:10, 10:00
EDGE OF TOMORROW (PG-13)
12:00, 2:30, 5:05, 7:40, 10:15
THE FAULT IN OUR STARS (PG-13)
12:20, 3:15, 7:00, 9:50
JERSEY BOYS (R)
12:30, 3:25, 7:05, 9:55
MALEFICENT (3D) (PG)
3D PRICING: $2.00 UPCHARGE ALL
TICKETS
11:50, 4:50
THE IDENTICAL (DIG) (PG)
11:10, 1:50, 5:00, 7:45, 10:25
IF I STAY (DIG) (PG-13)
10:55, 1:35, 4:25, 7:20, 10:15
INTO THE STORM (DIG) (PG-13)
11:45, 2:20, 7:50
LET’S BE COPS (DIG) (R)
11:25, 2:10, 4:50, 7:40, 10:20
LUCY (DIG) (R)
11:40, 2:15, 5:10, 7:55, 10:15
THE NOVEMBER MAN (DIG) (R)
11:00, 1:40, 4:20, 7:25, 10:05
PLANES: FIRE AND RESCUE
(DIG) (PG)
11:05, 1:45, 7:35
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA
TURTLES (3D) (PG-13)
3D PRICING: $3.00 UPCHARGE ALL
TICKETS
11:20, 1:55, 4:30, 6:10, 8:45
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA
TURTLES (DIG) (PG-13)
12:45, 3:30, 7:30, 10:10
WHEN THE GAME STANDS TALL
(DIG) (PG)
12:55, 3:40, 7:10, 9:55
MALEFICENT (PG)
1:05, 3:20, 5:35, 7:55, 10:20
NEIGHBORS (R)
12:15, 2:40, 5:15, 7:45, 10:25
RIO 2 (3D) (G)
11:55, 2:25, 5:00, 7:35, 10:10
TAMMY (R)
12:10, 2:35, 5:10, 7:50, 10:25
TRANSFORMERS: AGE OF
EXTINCTION (PG-13)
12:05, 3:30, 6:55, 10:15
WISH I WAS HERE (DIG) (R)
2:15, 7:25, 10:00
X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST
(PG-13)
12:25, 3:40, 7:15, 10:30
growing a bit too cutesy, the movie takes a dark and
devious turn, sending the already unnerved couple down a
rabbit hole of suspicion, doubt and betrayal.
Both Duplass (Safety Not Guaranteed) and Moss (Mad
Men) are excellent in roles that demand a high level of
subtlety and sophisticated characterization; in fact, it is their
on-screen chemistry, revealed in small, familiar gestures and
knowing looks, that grounds this film, which otherwise might
have taken a disastrous left turn into pure pretense. It is best
not to ask the big “why” at the center of The One I Love, but
rather to give in to the logic of it’s illogic, and let it lead you
to its final Twilight Zone reckoning — an end game where
desire and commitment take on a whole new meaning. ■
IMAX: FORREST GUMP 3D (PG-13)
Fri. - Sat.1130 245 630 945
THE IDENTICAL (PG)
Fri. - Sat.(1145) 445 730 1010
AS ABOVE, SO BELOW [CC,DV] (R)
Fri. - Sat.(1235) 455 735 1000
GHOSTBUSTERS (PG)
Fri. - Sat.(1230 PM) 1015 PM
CANTINFLAS (NR)
Fri. - Sat.(1210 345) 635 925
NOVEMBER MAN [CC] (R) Fri. - Sat.(1155 235) 510 750 1030
IF I STAY [CC,DV] (PG-13)
Fri. - Sat.(1140) 410 725 1020
WHEN THE GAME STANDS TALL [CC,DV] (PG)
Fri. - Sat.(1215 350) 700 950
THE GIVER [CC,DV] (NR)
Fri. - Sat.(1130 210) 435 705 930
THE EXPENDABLES 3 [CC,DV] (PG-13)
Fri. - Sat.405 PM 655 PM
LET'S BE COPS [CC,DV] (R) Fri. - Sat.(1205) 430 740 1025
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES [CC,DV] (PG-13)
Fri. - Sat.(1135 205) 440 710 940
HUNDRED FOOT JOURNEY [CC,DV] (PG)
Fri. - Sat.(1200) 400 655 955
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY [CC,DV] (PG-13)
Fri. - Sat.(1150 355) 645 935
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY 3D [CC,DV] (PG-13) ★
Fri. - Sat.(1220) 425 715 1005
LUCY [CC,DV] (R)
Fri. - Sat.(1220) 425 715 1005
NOVEMBER MAN [CC] (R)
Fri. - Sat.(140) 420 720 1000
IF I STAY [CC,DV] (PG-13)
Fri. - Sat.(130) 410 710 945
WHEN THE GAME STANDS TALL [CC,DV] (PG)
Fri. - Sat.(110) 400 640 920
THE GIVER [CC,DV] (NR)
Fri. - Sat.(100 PM)
THE EXPENDABLES 3 [CC,DV] (PG-13)
Fri. - Sat.(330 PM) 645 PM 940 PM
LET'S BE COPS [CC,DV] (R)
Fri. - Sat.(150) 430 730 1005
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES [CC,DV] (PG-13)
Fri. - Sat.(110 PM) 630 PM
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES 3D [CC,DV] (PG-13) ★
Fri. - Sat.(340 PM) 910 PM
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY [CC,DV] (PG-13)
Fri. - Sat.700 PM
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY 3D [CC,DV] (PG-13) ★
Fri. - Sat.(100 PM 350 PM) 955 PM
THE IDENTICAL (PG)
Fri. - Sat.(100) 400 700 945
FRANK MILLER'S SIN CITY DAME TO KILL FOR
[CC,DV] (R)
Fri. - Sat.430 PM 1000 PM
THE EXPENDABLES 3 [CC,DV] (PG-13)
Fri. - Sat.(115 PM) 710 PM
LET'S BE COPS [CC,DV] (R)
Fri. - Sat.(130) 445 725 955
BOYHOOD (R)
Fri. - Sat.(145 PM) 515 PM 900 PM
Times For 09/05 - 09/06 © 2014
THUR SEPT 4 - WED SEPT 10
THU
HIS GIRL
FRIDAY
3:45
CUBAN
FURY
7:30
MOONRISE
KINGDOM DRAFT DAY BAD WORDS
5:30
5:30
3:45
LOCKE
7:30
ONLY LOVERS
THE
BIRDCAGE LEFT ALIVE
9:20
9:20
DATE NIGHT SPECIAL: $20
3 MOVIE PUNCH CARDS FOR 2
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EUGENEWEEKLY.COM • SEPTEMBER 4, 2014
21