I’m Trevor with the Sasquatch Movie Minute at the final Park City Sundance and I am here with a review for CAROUSEL

 

3 out of 5.

 

This film is directed by Rachel Lambert and stars Chris Pine and Jenny Slate.

 

This is a very quiet, slow film about falling back in love with someone from your past. Pine is a small town doctor and Slate is the woman who left town and broke his heart. Pine has a nice interiority here, and the time spent with these characters really let us dive into who these characters are. But they are both so sedate! I wanted more from this; more humor, more insight, more conflict. There are a couple scenes that dig into the relationship, but it is surrounded by more beige-y conversations that convey character beats we have already seen.

 

Best scene. An argument near the end between Pine and Slate is extraordinary. Both actors are at their best here, lobbying back and forth. We can identify with both of their positions and the argument tears out so many old thorns and wounds, it really opens the whole movie up. The film really peters out after that, and I got confused logistically by some of the climactic scenes.

 

Performance. I wasn’t convinced this was the right role for Slate as a high-powered attorney back in her hometown. But especially in that argument I mentioned above, she is fantastic. She alternately gentle, wounded, angry, and confused, each transition seamlessly woven into this complex portrait of a partner.

 

Well made, but there are better character films out there.