Welcome to another awesome edition of Movie Review Monday!

This week's film comes to us via Netflix and is 2013's The One I Love featuring Mark Duplass and Elizabeth Moss.

I was recommended this movie by a friend, as well as by the algorithms of Netflix so I figured it would be something I was interested in. It is a small, independent, unique, romantic comedy with some light sci-fi elements, so once I knew all that, I was in. However, after I was done watching this movie, I was very frustrated and let down. I will say as a precursor, it felt much the same way as when I finished Mr. Nobody. Still, this movie seemed to be confused about what it was and what it was trying to say, so in this muddled narrative, I think it lost a lot of its punch.

The basic premise is that Duplass and Moss (Ethan and Sophie respectively) are married and their relationship has hit a rough patch. They decide to go on a weekend retreat to a beautiful house away from the world to work out their problems. They soon realize, however, that the house is more than meets the eye. I actually would liken the strangeness of this movie to another Duplass movie, Safety Not Guaranteed, which in some ways is a far better movie. I don't want to spoil the movie, so I won't explain it any more than this, but the hook is an odd one when it is all said and done.

When I finished this movie, I had to immediately process it and find other theories of the movie's plot and what it all meant. I found some articles that shared my confusions and frustrations but also helped me understand the movie better (SPOILERS: here, here, and here). Some were a bit less contrarian to the film than I was, some even praising it for the ambiguity. They captured much of my thoughts better than I can articulate them and give some different perspectives, so I won't reiterate or repeat them. Definitely check them out after you watch the movie so you can process everything see some diverse perspectives on everything.

Nevertheless, this is a hard movie for me to recommend. It seems to fit the bill of all the types of things I like about movies as I mentioned before, especially random ones I find to stream. If you want a movie to think about and process, this can be a good one to check out. It's not too long and the pacing is good so it won't feel like a drag. I just feel like it might be a film to think about and dissect in the wrong way, since the point of it all seems unclear to me.

You can check out The One I Love streaming right now on Netflix.

Thanks for stopping by!