Review: TAKE THIS WALTZ Is a Remarkable, Offbeat Love Story
In "Take This Waltz," Margot (Michelle Williams) has a good life. She’s happily married to Lou (Seth Rogen), the successful author of a chicken cookbook, and they’re living comfortably. If you were a fly on the wall in their home, you’d assume this young couple was so passionate for each other that their young romance would last ‘till death do them part. But something soon seems off with Margot. She’s empty inside.
Coming home from a business trip, she meets Daniel (Luke Kirby), a passionate painter who makes ends meet as a rickshaw driver. Margot and Daniel immediately hit it off, transcending into an unconventional friendship farther than she and Lou could ever reach. She starts to fall for Daniel, but fights — hard — to resist the temptation of getting physically and mentally involved with another man. As the days go by, the temptation gets harder and the emptiness grows. “Take This Waltz” is a remarkable, offbeat love story about how not all perfect romances have a fairy tale beginning or end.
"Take This Waltz" asks questions and challenges true love. Can someone be happily married and fall deeply in love for someone else? Will it be easy? Margot and Lou’s relationship seem so perfect. Throughout the film, they show their undying love by telling each other horrifically cute things like, “I just bought a new melon baller and I’d like to gouge out your eyeballs with it,” followed quickly by, “I love you so much.” When the heart wants something else, this tactic doesn’t work anymore.
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Michelle Williams as the lead no longer has anything to prove. She’s one of the few who broke away from teen idol typecasting (does anyone actually remember her anymore from “Dawson’s Creek”?) to become one of the most prolific working actors currently working. That said, the staggering performances in this movie are from Seth Rogen and Sarah Silverman. They both come from a background of filthy comedy and take their stab at, for once, being taken seriously. And they both do this without flaw. Silverman plays Geraldine, a recovering alcoholic who bides her time by taking exercise swimming courses with the elderly at a local YMCA. Lou is a kind-hearted man who sees the big picture on marriage — it might be a slow burn at times, but it’s supposed to last a lifetime. It’s exciting to know how far of a range these two actors have.
"Take This Waltz" is an unconventional look at the new and wondrous feeling of falling in love. It’s not always easy, especially in Margot’s case, but writer and director Sarah Polley has made it look beautiful. In the end, this film is all about Polley and what this promising director is capable of. We congratulate her for showing romance in a new and daring way.