My Scattered Thoughts on Sarah Polley’s Take This Waltz

For better of for worse, technology has completely changed the way we interact with cinema. No longer do we have to wait days or even months to hear early word about the latest movies. Thanks to Twitter we can find out instants after any given screening. With the latest innovations in home theater technology, watching a movie from the comfort of your own home is becoming a more and more viable option. For more and more relatively high-profile movies it is becoming an option even before the movie receives a theatrical release, thanks to new video on demand trends. There are many benefits  to this; no longer do those of us living too far from a theater showing a movie we want to see have to wait months and months to see it. The downside to having word about any given movie get out so early, though, is fewer and fewer people willing to decide for themselves whether they like anything. There are those who won’t go anywhere near any movie not playing in over 3,000 theaters across North America. Those who take pride in their intellectual superiority, having the ability to enjoy that independent little gem that general audiences are not “smart enough” to appreciate.  Those who get a kick out of being the contrarian, always having a negative opinion ready when something becomes successful. Yet, perhaps it’s the middle group who is the most conservative of all.

How often do you see sellouts at a festival for a film without a star or director that has already been given some kind of critical seal of approval prior to the screening? How many small, truly independent films become breakout hits without an amazing reception during the FIRST festival or public screening. It seems that, more and more, that first screening is a make or break moment. If it’s successful, its smooth sailing ahead for the film. If that first group of people who sees the movies isn’t ready to declare it a masterpiece, chances are no one after that will want to be the first to do so. We don’t want to take a chance on something that hasn’t already been branded hip. It’s my opinion that Sarah Polley’s Take This Waltz has fallen victim to this. It had its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival last year, and while reaction to it has been far from bad, it does feel a bit on the tepid side, especially in comparison to her 2006 masterpiece, Away From Her. It’s a shame because in spite of some minor flaws (the series of coincidences that set the “romance” of the film in motion seem like a bit of a stretch) it is one of the best films of the year.