Director Dana Adam Shapiro takes us through the dark world of adult relationships in Brooklyn with his debut fiction feature, Monogamy. In his first feature follow up to his Oscar nominated documentary, Murderball, Shapiro shows a strong sense of craft in the Directors chair. Touches of Bergman and Hitchcock seem to inspire Monogamy with its exploration of relationships and sanity in decline.
Chris Messina and Rashida Jones star as an engaged couple living in a dreamy boho Brooklyn loft. (Kudos to production designer, Timothy Widbee.) Messina’s character, Theo, works as a wedding photographer but has a side project called Gumshoot where he endeavors to stalk and spy on his customers in order to provide them with a truly candid series of photographs. The idea is intriguing and the movie does well to sell the concept as something worth exploring both in fiction and in real life.
Things pick up when Theo becomes obsessed with a customer who engages in public sex for the benefit of his camera. This here is where I think the movie is kept from being a major success - had the subsequent psychodrama stemmed from an apparent danger involved in this seedy adventure, than I might have sympathized Theo’s mental breadown a great deal more than I actually did. Instead, the movie is true to it’s title and the catalyst for his breakdown is simply that he is being faced with his fear of commitment to his fiancé.
We all know fear and sex go hand in hand so for my money as a viewer, I would have enjoyed the visceral experience of the movie a great deal more if the stakes were higher than the simple breakup of two people who I don’t really think belong together anyway.
As usual, I found Jones quite boring but in this context, she wasn’t supposed to be exciting. She was supposed to portray the boredom that lazy Brooklyn couples can associate with monogamy. Still. . . that doesn’t really make for the steamiest of cinema.
I’m anxious to see what Shapiro does with his next movie, which I’m sure will come to be. This was probably the best movie of its budget that I’ve ever seen and despite the lack of suspense it shows real talent on all fronts.
Chris Messina and Rashida Jones star as an engaged couple living in a dreamy boho Brooklyn loft. (Kudos to production designer, Timothy Widbee.) Messina’s character, Theo, works as a wedding photographer but has a side project called Gumshoot where he endeavors to stalk and spy on his customers in order to provide them with a truly candid series of photographs. The idea is intriguing and the movie does well to sell the concept as something worth exploring both in fiction and in real life.
Things pick up when Theo becomes obsessed with a customer who engages in public sex for the benefit of his camera. This here is where I think the movie is kept from being a major success - had the subsequent psychodrama stemmed from an apparent danger involved in this seedy adventure, than I might have sympathized Theo’s mental breadown a great deal more than I actually did. Instead, the movie is true to it’s title and the catalyst for his breakdown is simply that he is being faced with his fear of commitment to his fiancé.
We all know fear and sex go hand in hand so for my money as a viewer, I would have enjoyed the visceral experience of the movie a great deal more if the stakes were higher than the simple breakup of two people who I don’t really think belong together anyway.
As usual, I found Jones quite boring but in this context, she wasn’t supposed to be exciting. She was supposed to portray the boredom that lazy Brooklyn couples can associate with monogamy. Still. . . that doesn’t really make for the steamiest of cinema.
I’m anxious to see what Shapiro does with his next movie, which I’m sure will come to be. This was probably the best movie of its budget that I’ve ever seen and despite the lack of suspense it shows real talent on all fronts.
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