In this post, I will offer a spoiler-free review of the film The One I Love as well as a much longer review complete with spoilers. Just as with The Cabin in the Woods, which I reviewed back in April of 2012, The One I Love has multiple levels of spoilers, making for one crazy, trippy movie that's also really difficult to talk about. If you haven't seen The One I Love and would like a wholly innocent, pure experience, just don't read any of this and go see the movie. Come back and read my review when you've finished...
Well, okay, if you want to know a *little* about the movie...
The One I Love (spoiler-free!)
The One I Love is the first full-length film by Charlie McDowell. It stars Mad Men's Elisabeth Moss and mumblecore veteran Mark Duplass. Moss and Duplass play Sophie and Ethan, a married couple who are trying to work through infidelity (Ethan cheated on Sophie). They see a therapist (Ted Danson), who recommends they squirrel away at a retreat to reconnect with one another. The retreat is pretty nice--basically, a big house, a pool, and guest house, complete with a photo-book of other happy couples who have emerged from the retreat more deeply in love than ever.
But then some weird shit goes down.
That's literally all I can say, or I'd give too much away. You want more info? See the movie or read the rest of my review.
I can safely say that I really, really enjoyed The One I Love. Duplass and Moss are great--they really nail the comfort and tension of two people who have been together for years and are going through a hard time, yet trying to forgive one another. They both juggle changing emotions--from annoyance to anger to lust to affection--with great skill. The One I Love has received mixed reviews from film critics, but I for one thought it was unique and really interesting. Go see it!
4.5 out of 5 stars
***
The One I Love (with spoilers!)
Alright, so here's the deal. The whole fucking plot of this movie IS the spoiler. About 15-20 minutes into the film, the two lovebirds check out the guest house at their little retreat, have some dinner and wine, and end up screwing on the couch. Sophie says she wants to sleep in the guest house, but she wants to get some clothes from the main house first, so she heads over...only to find Ethan sleeping on the couch of the main house. Understandably confused, she asks how he made it there before she did. He says he doesn't know what she's talking about and they have a fight. Later, Ethan walks over to the guest house to find empty wine bottles, a joint still smoking in an ash tray, etc. Sophie comes in, says "I'm sorry", and the two snuggle to sleep. Next morning, Ethan heads back to the main house and finds Sophie, who was cooking him breakfast in a cute nightie in the guest house not two minutes before, emerge in an oversize sweatshirt from the main house's bathroom.
Sophie and Ethan take turns checking out the guest house--alone--only to find a more idealized version of each other waiting for them there. Rather than freaking the fuck out and getting the hell out of dodge, Sophie convinces Ethan to stick around and explore what's going on in more depth. They make a few rules--they can't have sex with the doppelgangers in the guest house, they can't spy on each other when one is in the guest house, and they get 15 minutes at a time in the guest house. Well, Sophie immediately breaks that last rule, causing Ethan to break the 2nd rule by peeking in on her while she gets an awesome shoulder massage from Ethan 2.0 in the guest house. Some kinky shit, man.
You might think that this is as weird as the movie gets...but you'd be wrong! After a few nights of exploring the guest house (well, Sophie definitely does a lot of "exploring" with Ethan 2.0, whereas real Ethan barely wants to be around Sophie 2.0 because he's creeped out by her), the doppelgangers show up in the main house! Scary! The scenes where the doppelgangers confront the originals is pretty fun since it gives Mark Duplass a chance to play the more alpha male Ethan 2.0 alongside his suspicious beta male real Ethan character, and for Elisabeth Moss to have real Sophie compliment Sophie 2.0 and then have Sophie 2.0 act all bitchy to real Sophie when no one is looking. Seriously, this movie is a trip.
There are more secrets to be explored in the guest house, which Ethan does while the doppelgangers are occupied in the other house. He finds some shit that is way spookier than anticipated. The doppelgangers are not innocent creatures who just want to help Sophie and Ethan through their marital troubles, but usurpers who actually want to take their place out in the real world and trap Ethan and Sophie at the guest house retreat...unless they assume the identities of the next troubled couple to show up. Can real Ethan convince real Sophie to escape before it's too late? Or is real Sophie falling in love with Ethan 2.0?
What I like about this movie is that there's no in-depth explanation about how all of this is possible. There's no secret lab where we see a mad scientist creating the doppelgangers. You find out what's going on in stages throughout the movie, but there are some things the film just leaves as a mystery--like how a couple gets "trapped" in the guest house and then manages to actually take the form of the next couple. And really, that's a good thing because the whole film is pretty obviously an elaborate and layered metaphor for identity and relationships. I'd need to see the film again to come up with a more coherent explanation, but I liked the one provided by Moze Halperin on Flavorwire. Halperin argues that the film is a metaphor for modern day serial monogamy--how we are constantly looking for, getting into, and getting out of romantic and sexual relationships, and in doing so, reinventing our identities again and again. Sometimes in small, innocuous ways ("You love Vietnamese food? Oh my God, so do I!") and sometimes in more drastic, harmful ways ("She hurt my feelings, but I'll keep it inside since I don't want to lose her").
A simpler explanation is that The One I Love is a metaphor for how we idealize, well, the ones we love. How the gloss of a new relationship can slowly erode until we see imperfections that we somehow missed (but were always there) in the honeymoon stages--and how we sometimes try to force our loved ones to conform to this vision we have of them, and not let them be the imperfect vessels they actually are. The film asks the question, "if you could have a perfect version of your partner, would you want it?" Sophie responds with a resounding "Yes!" by getting turned on by Ethan 2.0, who stops wearing his glasses, does sit-ups, and massages Sophie's shoulders. Ethan responds with a heartfelt "Fuck, no!" by being thoroughly creeped out by Sophie 2.0 who is sweeter and cooks him bacon.
However you want to read The One I Love, I found the movie to be a surprisingly light-hearted take on the difficult topic of marital strife and imperfections in relationships (or, flat-out betrayal, as Ethan's cheating on Sophie is replicated by Sophie falling for Ethan 2.0). The film could have been melodramatic, but even during the creepy parts it managed to stay bubbly (at least for me). Think "The Twilight Zone" with a less heavy-handed message. The One I Love is a smart, fun, intriguing film.
4.5 out of 5 stars
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