Take This Waltz

 

 

Michelle Williams, Seth Rogen, Luke Kirby
Directed by Sarah Polley
Rating: C

Margot (Williams) has a restless nature. She obviously wants something more to happen in her life than the one she is living with her tame but loving husband, Lou (Rogen). They have fun together, but five years of marriage later Margot is bored with their relationship. Lou writes cookbooks and is constantly making some new recipe in the kitchen. From what we see of their relationship, they love each other but there’s no passion.

Coincidence seems to happen a lot when Margot meets Daniel (Kirby) in Nova Scotia. They “happen” to sit next to each other on the plane ride home. After getting comfortable around the other up in the air, they discover they live near one another. They share a taxi and Daniel says he can just walk home from Margot’s house. When they get out, he points across the street and says, “I live there”. It’s inevitable the two should meet again, and with each encounter Margot is allowing herself to develop feelings for her neighbor.

It’s hard to understand what Margot says sometimes when she decides to talk in a baby voice. Her character is scared of taking chances and is afraid of rejection. Daniel is a big risk to take but he encourages her flirtations. He makes her feel bold enough to ask him what he would do to her when they’re alone together. Margot tries to seduce her husband at the wrong moment, like when he’s cooking, and his rejection embarrasses her. So she flees to Daniel who won’t rebuff her advances.

“Take This Waltz” changes the average “unhappily married woman has an affair” plot. Instead, the married woman is in love with her husband. She was happy with what she had until she met Daniel, who she couldn’t stay away from. There’s not enough character development to understand why Margot has these fears. There’s a feeling that Daniel could be a stalker, even if it’s a coincidence how Margot and Daniel meet. It’s nice to see Seth Rogen in a role where he’s not crude, but kind of genuinely sweet. There’s a likability to the movie with its quirky characters, but it’s not enough to save the movie from being satisfactory.