Blu-ray Review: Great Performance From Michelle Williams Leads ‘Take This Waltz’

CHICAGO – “Take This Waltz” is one of my most personally divisive films of the year. What I mean is that for every element of the movie that I truly adore, there’s one that I loathe. In the former category, there’s Michelle Williams’ striking performance and director Sarah Polley’s eye for color. In the latter category, there’s Polley’s script, one that simply never resonates as truthful and carries some of the worst dialogue of the year. There are elements here that work but every one is balanced by something that drives me crazy.

Rating: 3.0/5.0

First and foremost, we need to recognize that Michelle Williams is one of the best working actresses. She’s spectacular here, better than she was in last year’s Oscar-nominated “My Week with Marilyn.” And yet she’s stuck delivering dialogue that’s either far too on-the-nose in terms of describing its character’s motivations or far too stylized. The scene in which she meets her future lover (Luke Kirby) in which she describes how much she can’t stand “missed connections” feels like a parody of overcooked indie dramas. And yet there’s the scene in which Williams and Kirby ride to “Video Killed the Radio Star” that is easily one of my favorites of the year. “Take This Waltz” continues to drive me critically crazy. And the near-complete lack of special features on the Magnolia Blu-ray don’t help. The battle continues.

Take This Waltz was released on Blu-ray and DVD on October 23, 2012
Photo credit: Magnolia

Synopsis:
Michelle Williams plays twenty-eight-year-old Margot, happily married to Lou (Seth Rogan), a good-natured cookbook author. But when Margot meets Daniel (Luke Kirby), a handsome artist that lives across the street, their mutual attraction is undeniable. Swelteringly hot, bright and colorful, Take This Waltz leads us, laughing, through the familiar, but uncharted question of what long-term relationships do to love, sex and our image of ourselves.

Click here to buy “Take This Waltz” [12]

Special Features:
o Making Of Take This Waltz
o AXS TV: A Look At Take This Waltz
o Trailer

[13]	By BRIAN TALLERICO [14] Content Director HollywoodChicago.com brian@hollywoodchicago.com [13]