Review: Passages

Image courtesy of MUBI.

The latest film from Ira Sachs - whose body of work primarily focuses on intimate human dramas, such as "Love is Strange," "Frankie," and "Married Life" - is well made and full of solid performances, even if the scenario at its center and the consequences that result from it seem a bit overly familiar.

"Passages" was a hit at this year's Sundance Film Festival, and it's bolstered by strong performances from lead actors Franz Rogowski and Ben Whishaw - portraying a married couple, the former of whom is a temperamental film director - as well as Adele Exarchopoulos, the woman who gets in between their relationship by engaging in an affair with Tomas (Rogowski), who surprises both himself and his husband by the fact that he's bisexual.

The performances are what make the film ultimately click, even when it feels as if the picture isn't necessarily saying anything new about such a scenario. One element of the film that is particularly interesting is the juxtaposition of Tomas' work ethic with the goings on in his personal life. 

As the film opens, he is nitpicking the lead actor - and even the extras - as he prepares to shoot a scene in his latest film. Every time the camera is set to begin rolling, he walks back onto the set, grumbling and criticizing someone about something they are doing. This meticulousness in his career is a far cry from the messy, rambunctious way he engages with people personally as he makes a mess of both his relationships with Martin (Whishaw) and Agathe (Exarchopoulos), whom he meets at a nightclub and quickly engages for an affair.

Things become even more complicated when Martin decides that he wants nothing to do with Tomas and, instead, gets involved in his own tryst with a writer named Amad (Erwan Kepoa Fale), while Tomas impregnates Agathe and doesn't do a great job convincing her nervous parents that he'll stand by her through the pregnancy.

"Passages" is ultimately about a narcissist (Tomas) who burns bridges both professionally - you get the sense that people on his movie sets won't want to work with him again - and personally. At the same time, while Martin and Agathe put up with his nonsense, there's never a sense that they are necessarily weak people. As the film nears its end, and these two characters meet for a coffee, it's obvious they are both moving on from Tomas, leaving him to crash and burn - something he's likely done before and will likely do again and again - on his own.

"Passages" might not be my favorite Sachs picture - that would probably be either "Love is Strange" - but it's a solid indie feature with strong performances and an intriguing take on tumultuous relationships. All in all, a pretty decent film.