The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Him/Her/Them is a lot to wrap your head around, but worth it. The film (starring Jessica Chastain and James McAvoy) was originally conceived by writer/director Ned Benson as two separate films, made to be companion pieces. Both were screened at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival, one called Him and the other Her. Each film follows the evolution of the same relationship, from each side: The couple’s first meeting, their passionate love story, the slow disintegration of their marriage and the efforts to revive it. After Harvey Weinstein acquired them at Toronto, the two films were cut together into one epic 190-minute opus. It won accolades at its Cannes Film Festival premiere last May. The film’s creative structure (skipping back and forth between points of view) does not come off as a novelty device, but rather a facilitator for fully experiencing this personal, heartrending love story. This is a movie to slowly savor. (In theaters September 26)
Review by Becca Greene
