Customer Reviews

XX/XY

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This film is worth having in one's collection if you happen to like quirky independent films and appreciate acting performances that are worth watching more than once. Make no mistake, this film is Mark Ruffalo's showcase for the brilliant actor that he is. He is absolutely perfect in this film, as a man in a serious relationship that hasn't gotten to the engagement step quite yet, and whose life is thrown for a loop by an accidental encounter with a former flame he knew a decade ago. His facial expressions alone, in attempting to hide his duplicitous nature, marks him as an actor to watch out for. The best scene I've ever seen in any film is the bathroom sequence, when Mark and his girlfriend are brushing their teeth and discussing his friends they had just met for dinner earlier. The playfulness and the visual tricks in that scene really enhanced this film for me. The songs used in the film (though a couple of them are not on the soundtrack) are also an added plus for the film...especially the karaoke scene with "Don't You Want Me" by the Human League. The characters are real to me, the same generation as me, so I feel like they could possibly be people I know. I love seeing how Mark's character gets his comeuppance by his girlfriend, who suspects something going on and calls him on it, even though he tries to deny or hide his interest in his former flame. The acting by the cast is first rate. The reason why I give it four stars instead of five is because I did not like the first part of the film when the characters were in their 20s. I almost gave up on the film, but am glad I stuck with it, because once it focuses on them at 30, the film is flawless to the very end. I expect Mark Ruffalo to become one of the best actors of our generation and I look forward to seeing his other work in the near future.

"There is no honesty in a healthy relationship." Director Chick seems to sum up his film nicely with this poignantly tragic statement. This movie comprises many themes, but the dominant one I see centers around the contradictions that we humans practice daily in our lives, as individuals and as a race. It is not that hard to visualize the life that we want, but to take action requires real courage, and Chick depicts vividly how little courage we do have. The main character is Coles, played beautifully by Ruffalo, who portrays discomfort, guilt, and fear perfectly. In the beginning of his relationship with Sammy they both claim that they want honesty and no games, and they do just the opposite. Ten years later Coles is much the same. He is the romantic waiting for externalities to change his life, to force him into decisions that may or may not be what he wants. He loves two women but lacks the courage to make a stand for either. They make it for him, which is sad, because I think his character is doomed to simply repeat himself. At first I believed that it was the women in this film who were the strong ones, but even Sammy and Claire lack the courage to claim themselves completely. They need someone to rescue or someone to rescue them. Claire catches Coles with Sammy, and she silently walks away, giving him the chance to make a choice, and he of course does not. Sammy makes a different choice all together. Only Thea seems to come full circle after ten years. She knows who she is, and she makes no apologies for it. She grew up, and she doesn't take sides and brings some much needed honesty and insight to her friends. This movie is about the life we want and the life we settle for. It makes you think, and that's a good thing. And if it makes you take action, well then, that's a great thing. There is honesty in a healthy relationship, but we have to define healthy for ourselves. No one can do it for us.

An intriguing premise and a great cast are the high point of XX/XY. Unfortunately, neither the story nor the cast manages to reach their full potential, and a lot of what could have been is quickly lost. Despite its flaws, however, XX/XY still manages to entertain. It's a light and fluffy attempt at serious drama, bogged down by numerous scenes of our love triangle engaging in a threesome. Overall, it manages to succeed.

Kathleen Robertson gives her usual performance (playing a similar character she portrayed in another film about a threesome, Greg Arakki's far superior SPLENDOR) but she's pretty darn good. There is definitely something about her that manages to brighten up a scene. She has such charisma and a charming personality, but unfortunately, her character is lost underneath the drama of the other two in love. I would have loved to have seen more done with her character.

Mark Ruffallo is Coles, a former director with only one film to his credit, who is now a commercial artist. Maya Stange is Sam, the woman in the threesome he ultimately falls for. The three form an inseparable social group, doomed perhaps by their omnipresent sexual tension. Of course, things don't go as planned and their relationship quickly spirals out of control until its destruction.

But 10 years later, with Coles now engaged, a chance encounter with Sam ignites old feelings and changes everything.

XX/XY is that rare film where we grow to genuinely care about the characters. Their romantic troubles are portrayed with a refreshing, open honesty missing from most Hollywood films. The incisive acting of Ruffalo, Robertson and Stange convincingly makes the point that these still-young males and females are just as stunted and confused as the rest of us.

XX/XY starts in the comfortingly familiar territory of out of control college kids, but writer/director Austin Chick has the confidence to push on and navigate the uncharted waters of reaching middle age. It all works well, aside from the fact that ten years later, these characters still look the same, maybe even better! However, the film itself is a great diversion from all the horrible films Hollywood throws our way, but definitely not for all tastes. This is a true independent film--dark, dreary, and slow, but fascinating and intriguing at the same time. There are better films out there, but hell, there have been a lot worse.

The first half of "XX/XY" is a labeled as a flashback to 1993, the second half is labeled a flash-forward a few years to the present. The transition between the two time periods is immediately proceeded by a confusingly contrived match cut from bedroom to subway. The subway scene is brief and unnecessary, a less than zero addition that must have looked like a good idea on paper. Unfortunately, once they staged it they felt compelled to use it.

Although "XX/XY" is told as a linear story, during post-production they realized that it was too choppy and confusing for straight viewing and elected to label the scene transitions with a lot of on-screen titles. Although viewers will thank them for this last-minute fix, it is like making an explicit admission of writer/director Austin Chick's limitations and/or pre-production laziness. The final cut gives the impression that it wasn't until the actual assembly of this film that Chick gave any thought to the sequence for many of the scenes.

The bleak colors, inadequate lighting, and bland production design are depressingly consistent with the tone of the story. Don't expect to find anything uplifting except the Taco ads and the advertising agency parody.

Those expecting a script on the intelligence level of "Closer" (a similar premise) will be disappointed despite decent performances from the entire cast. I initially watched from the perspective of a Kathleen Robertson fan and was disappointed with her quite ancillary position in the story relative to Mark Ruffalo and Maya Strange. Although promoted as the story of a "carefree threesome", Robertson's Thea is just a third wheel in the Coles (Ruffalo)-Sam (Stange) relationship. Chick briefly gives Robertson something to do as she breaks Sid (Kel O'Neill), a shy puppy dog boy who she teasingly sleeps with once. But he goes nowhere with this, apparently it is just there to insure viewers dislike all members of the threesome, not just the principal two.

If you can manage to tough it out for a while, things get much better in the second half. The "Gatsby" ending is actually very good. Mostly this is because each member of the threesome has paired up in monogamist relationships with very likable people. By this point Coles has become the principal character as Chick begins to explore the mysteries of male discontent. The Coles' characterization is hard to buy into, there is just too much inconsistency as Chick tries to make him both a wimp and a "stick it to the man" rebel (I assume that this inconsistency is supposed to be the whole point for the movie). Although Ruffalo can adequately play either character he cannot perform the impossible and weave these disparate traits into a believable person.

The second half shows Coles involved in a long-term relationship with Claire (Petra Wright). Once her character is introduced, Wright proceeds to steal the remainder of the film, not just because she is the film's first well-adjusted character (and arguably most talented performer), but because her part is written so much better than the others. Claire's scene on the pier is the film's best moment and the one thing here that you will want to go back and view multiple times.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

The movie starts out slow and explores the relationship of two people who seemingly love each other but make the other miserable. It then fast forwards to ten years later when the principles reunite and truly test their love and feelings for each other. The second half of the film is redeeming and really resonates at times. Overall, the film feels a bit too "indy" - as if it's trying too hard to not be mainstream and that's why it includes unconventional details.

XX/XY is really two movies in one. Though the characters are the same, they are at very different points in their lives. Perhaps this dual portrayal is part of the reason why this movie has gotten bashed when I think it should have been praised. The character acting and expert portrayals by a wonderful ensemble cast really cover over a story that has perhaps a few weaknesses in the plot and writing.

This is one of those character study movies where the most important lines are left unspoken. That is probably the second biggest reason for the wide disappointment with this movie. Still, this is one movie where peeling beneath the surface yields a lot of great finds.

The Story and the Script

Mark Ruffalo's character is your run of the mill non-committal guy. Here they make his non-committal nature out to be a sin greater than infidelity or domestic violence. While the writer's value judgments are a stretch, Ruffalo's performance as Coles really carries this movie. Is it fun to watch his wishy washy portrayal for everybody? Probably not. But those who love acting and love getting inside the mind of actors will really enjoy seeing the incredible portrayal he has here that has completely flown under the radar.

The first half of the movie is your typical young jerk and needy girls type of relationship fare. There are several scenes and sequences that are clearly left out of place, most likely by supporting sequences that have since been edited out or were never filmed. Still, there is a lot of foundation here. We see his relationship with the girl he chooses, Sam played by Maya Stange, and Thea, the one he keeps as a friend. Thea's character is also somewhat underdeveloped here.

When things end, they end badly. Granted that ending scene is done in a way to seem pointless or at least confusing. Yet they get their point across with it.

The second half of the movie is really what shines. We see his emotional neediness emerge as the women from his past return to his life. He tries to maintain *friendships* with them but the obvious friction creates the drama of the movie. The girlfriend he has been dating but not yet married is artfully portrayed by Petra Wright. While her total lines are few, she makes up for it by subtly building up her mood and a great fiery monologue.

Mark Ruffalo is very impressive. All the characters seem to have been written in a way that required understated portrayals. Perhaps that is why some will feel this moves *slowly*.

The four way (or in this case 5 way) relationship dynamics are bound to be compared to Closer, but they are really completely different movies. There is none of the extreme drama and exaggerated time elapsed emotion of Closer. Here we get to see these characters at two points in time, partly different and partly still the same.

Once again, there are several scenes that seem to have been included for self indulgence (Such as the one with the passerby who recognizes him and berates him for his work). And there were a few story elements that are also silly (I don't want to give a spoiler, but at the end of the movie look who's closing the door as Ruffalo goes back in the apartment.

Yet the resolution of the movie, while contrived, is made powerful by the strength of the actors really showing you the baseness of their characters.

Conclusion

While I can't rate this film much higher than 3 or 4, I highly recommend it to actors and lovers of independent film. If you can look past the slow moving parts, like me you will find yourself returning to this one to study the intricacies of the portrayal. Perhaps not the greatest choice for the general movie watcher, but students of acting can learn a lot from this one. Definitely check it out.

Enjoy!

Most people will either love this film or hate it. I liked it. There's not much of a story but the character development and acting to achieve that development is first rate and enjoyable. If you want a love story and romance, nope it's not here. Look elsewhere. What is great about this movie is it manages to portray two completely different time periods with two different and raw emotions. First we have the irresponsible 20's with threesomes, free love and a laissez-faire attitude about life and relationships. Ten years later and things have settled down. The couples are portrayed as mature and responsible but two, Coles and Sam from ten years ago still have feelings and actually have sex in a heated moment which has repercussions later in the story.

In the ending on another level we find all the couples are forced to find the true meaning of love. As mentioned in a previous paragraph, this is not a love story, romance or action adventure. To like this film you have to appreciate the level of emotion and character portrayal shown here in two distinct slices of time.

This movie is well acted and has an interesting story, but I keep wanting to slap the male character upside the head for being an idiot. I think of this as being the movie about how not to do polyamory. The characters are often not honest with themselves about how they feel, they use sex as a weapon against those they love and they often have hidden agendas that they refuse to reveal to the other participants in the relationship.

I'm left feeling at the end that nobody has really successfully communicated what they want to anybody else. There is a sort of strange "The Age of Innocence" style denouement in which everybody sort of settles for what's socially acceptable instead of trying for what they really want.

Though I wouldn't say that anyone's performance in this film was grossly lacking, the movie itself definitely was. Mark Ruffalo gave a somewhat convincing performance, but the storyline itself seemed to be missing something the whole way along. Never once did the movie have the sense of real passion or drama that it was hyped up to be. Kathleen Robertson's character Thea, seemed the only three-dimensional character, even though she was admittedly shallow.

There is a scene about midway through the movie where a man recognizes Coles (Mark Ruffalo) on the street as being the director of a film. He tells Coles that he saw his movie... thoroughly disliked it, and wanted his money back. I found that whole scene amusing and ironic, as I would be likely to ask the same thing of the director of this movie.

If you really want to see this movie, rent it, don't buy it. It's not one that is worth watching more than once... if at all.

Overall, this movie was "ok"- it was enhanced by Mark Ruffalo's performance and while I wasn't so fond of the ending, it's still a movie worth your time to see.