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Posted on Sep, 02, 2009
Nights and Weekends DVD has been released. It is a film which centers around a couple who are dealing with the hardships of a long distance relationship. Her in New York, him in Chicago, and us the viewer allowed to peak in on this relationship during their time together. I am familiar with this type of movie -the type of movie that is dialogue heavy, but that dialogue is all character driven. It's not really about the movie, it's about the characters. In one scene the two are in bed spouting off their insecurities, the next they are arguing about the way he eats a banana. There's no soundtrack, there's no narrative, only these two lovers and the information they give up in the conversations they have and the naked emotion that's presented. It was only recently that it was brought to my attention that there is actually a term for this type of movie, "Mumblecore."
Swanberg and Gerwig makes the viewer work during this film. No information is handed out, there is only what we can gather in the conversations and interactions between the two characters. In the opening scene the two lovers stumble in the door kissing and ripping one another's clothes off. It's raw, and quite obvious that these two people haven't seen each other in quite some time -but that's all we get. There is never any pandering narrative explaining who these two are, how they met, or how long they have been together. What we get instead are selective peaks into their lives via intimate moments and conversations. Eventually, the audience is able to piece together something substantial about these two -not a whole lot, but enough to make you care.
Nights and Weekends is split into two parts. In the first half of the film we get peaks into the couple's relationship and get to learn about who they are and how they interact. It's quite obvious that this relationship is meaningful to the both of them, but the fact that it is a long-distance relationship is always weighing on their minds. After this first half, the film jumps ahead a year, and it's here that Swanberg and Gerwig really shine. The couple is no longer together, and again, we have no details. We don't know how long they have been apart, we don't know the how or the why -but again we find out details as the film moves forward. It's during this time that Swanberg and Gerwig unleash incredible emotion. Old feelings come swirling back as Swanberg travels to New York and reunites with Greta. They miss each other. They miss who they once where. And it becomes quite obvious that these two still have some feelings that they will need to acknowledge.
Joe Swanberg is fantastic, but it's Greta Gerwig does an amazing job conveying the longing and the heartbreak making it easy to lose yourself in the film. There is no soundtrack to the movie, only the ambient sounds of the city, so it's easy to focus on the interaction between the two, which is meant to be the centerpiece of this film. The best way to describe this film on a whole is that it is simply a series of intimate moments and conversations in which we get to witness, and by the end of the film we are all reminded of -through the incredible interpretations of Swanberg and Gerwig- what can be so hard about relationships, but also what can also be so amazing.
I highly recommend Nights and Weekends. I think it will speak volumes to anyone who has ever loved another, anyone who has been in a long-distance relationship, and anyone who just appreciates good film making. |
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