Quartile rating: 7/10 · 1 rating
Twenty-eight-year-old Margot is happily married to Lou, a good-natured cookbook author. But when Margot meets Daniel, a handsome artist who lives across the street, their mutual attraction is undeniable.
Sarah Polley's intimate domestic drama is elevated by Michelle Williams's rawly honest performance and Lena Dunham's sharp supporting work. The cinematography — warm, golden Toronto summers contrasted with creeping domestic beige — is genuinely distinctive and emotionally expressive. The plot itself covers familiar adultery-and-restlessness territory, though Polley's script finds specific, memorable moments (the shower scene, the carousel sequence). The ending is tonally brave but slightly unresolved, capturing the deflation of fantasy fulfillment without fully committing to its implications. A carefully crafted, emotionally intelligent film that doesn't quite transcend its well-worn thematic ground.