I love this movie so much

Thanks for the memories!

People are voting emotionally.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

William Hurt and Isabelle Huppert are by far the best thing on this. Every time they appear, it gets interesting, literally, including a Hurt´s monologue near the end that proves that, given material, good actors deliver. Huppert, of course, is able to make a fly´s flight interesting. They give a lesson to Jessica Chastain and James McAvoy, which is kind of depressing since they´re both on the upper side of their generation. On the good hand, it´s not really their fault. The script is a disaster. The grief process is managed as if they were affected teenagers instead of young parents. At the beginning of the film I was commited but I didn´t feel anything whatsoever, except boredom. It doesn´t add absolutely anything to the matter, emotionally, psychologically or intellectually. I still don´t understand why does the teacher get so acquainted so quick with Eleanor, I guess the writer was one character short.The same gimmick has been done over 40 years ago, at the very least, in "Divorce His - Divorce Hers", a failed TV movie that is still better than this in every aspect. Don´t get me started on the deceitfulness and hipsterism of the title. I had low expectations and I´m a big fan of everyone in the cast. This was very disappointing.

"… If I am estranged from myself, I am likewise a stranger to others." - Brennan ManningWhile watching this female-centered chapter of the trilogy, one could find out in a short-while our protagonists might be going around in circles and not reaching a fair ground of conclusion. Eleanor(Jessica Chastain) and her estranged husband, Connor(James McAvoy), might still be in love but given their history of tragedy, she avoided meeting halfway or even less to make it work again about them. Not because that Eleanor was scared or abruptly commitment- phobic, but profoundly pained by her past of which he was an integral part, thus, she wanted to leave all of it back. At the same time, Conor tried hard only to give-up as well, and unwillingly accepting their estrangement. Around here, this 'drama-romance' seemed to be moving towards a 'tragedy'; however, around the conclusion the protagonists do meet- up and talk their hearts out, and amidst their sorrow, understand to move on and away. However, in the aftermath their future-association was left on the viewer's discretion.In the film, 'escapism' was delicately placed and utilised like a furbished backdrop to the plot, however, in a non-negative connotation; such as - Eleanor adored her nephew, and knew that it won't give her solace for long and definitely not suffice for her child. At the same time, we notice through her dialogues that her 'part-broken, part-recovering' viewpoints towards her environment and everyone around her, as she seemed so hopeless in shedding her pain, making her more isolated from any compassion. Similarly, she found mirrors too pinching and bothersome; though she ended up discovering one (more of her own 'reflection') in her anthropology professor (Viola Davis), who also "stayed hard" towards life, much like her. They talk about their short-comings and form a likely companionship, while jibing together at their likes and dislikes making it seem like a 'hermetically sealed, surreal experience' between them. They mostly never reached any solid conclusions, but they always found each other. It is a visual treat to watch Chastain and Davis deliver their scenes together, with characteristically mouthing same set of lines time-after-time. "The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Her" is way better delivered than the "Them" chapter in all aspects – especially in its writing (Ned Benson) and editing (Kristina Bonet, "Carlito's Way"). With the exceptions of supportive vignettes, the drama seems genuine on many aspects and also, tends to generate a fair deal of empathy towards the female-protagonist and also, some displeasure.Verdict – Watchable, mainly because of a near-perfect on-screen chemistry between James McAvoy and Jessica Chastain.Rating – 7/10

The sadness of being an incorrigible completist, I have to finish all these three films before writing my review, Ned Benson's ambitious feature-length debut is a post-trauma story of a young couple Conor (McAvoy) and Eleanor (Chastain) in New York after losing their child in an unspecified accident, HIM centres on Conor and HER centres on Eleanor in the same time period, then interweaves these two versions together, there arrives THEM, one can get an overall view of their paralleled life. So basically, I have watched the same movie twice, and certain scenes three times where the path of Conor and Eleanor converges. The premise is soundingly intriguing, as often cornily referred as two separate cerebral hemispheres, the film allows viewers to observe how men and women think and act differently towards the same scenario, in this case, a heartbroken tragedy. In HIM, the movie starts with one of their most intimate memory before their bereavement, an inadvertent thrill in their ordinary life sparks strong romance with Conor amorously says: "There is only one heart in this body, please have mercy on me". Then it jumps to several months of the aftermath, Eleanor uses an extreme method to declare that their life can not sustain as the status quo, they need to take a break. Conor doesn't understand why she needs her alone-time for her grievance, he is equally heartbroken, but he is ready to move on, leaving the tragedy behind with a seal on it, not to mention and keeps living on afterwards. He opens a bar with his best friend Stuart (Hader) and a flirty barmaid Alexis (Arianda) who is ready to "falling in love with him madly if he allows her". Meanwhile his father Spencer (Hinds) owns a successful restaurant named after Conor's mother, whom he dumped ages ago, it is also a thorny decision for him whether or not to swallow his pride to admit failure and take the restaurant inasmuch as his bar is on the brink of bankrupt, it is a privileged struggle as a rich kid's blues. In HER, no romantic prologue, Eleanor is introduced in her abrupt suicidal behaviour, then she returns to her bourgeoisie parents living in the suburb (played by Hurt and Huppert, he is a university professor and she is French), she goes back to the college and takes a class of professor Lillian Friedman (Davis), before long Conor finds out her whereabouts, stalks her in the street, in the classroom and eagerly to reconnect. As Hurt carefully phrases "Tragedy is a foreign country, we don't know how to talk to the natives", Conor's tentative makeup doesn't work, Eleanor needs to be over-indulged in the past for some time before finally moving forward, plus, she can spend all the time she wants in Paris, to heal her wounds, after a whimsical but failed reconnection during a pouring rain and a vis-a-vis opening-up in the middle of the night, it is rather tedious for her to realise that she should take a real break out of the Tri-state area. The disparity erected between each and every individuals cannot be compromised, only when they arrive in the same page with the same pace, they may have a chance to start anew as a couple. As often as he can, Benson intends to throw snappy verbal rejoinders to sound posh or vivacious, but most of the time they are ill-placed ("Now YOU sound maternal" throwaway) and uninspired, as most of the dialogues verge on beating around the bush either without any substantial function or being painstakingly predictable. Yet the two leads is recommendable in any rate, so it is safe to say the film is perfect for McAvoy and Chastain's stalwarts, both set off a full gamut of emotional overhaul and not to mention many close-ups to let their fans luxuriate in the idolatry. Among the eclectic supporting cast, Huppert radiates in every scene simply by holding a glass of red wine in her hand, and Davis thrusts her raw gravitas into her casual bantering with her THE HELP (2010, 8/10) co- star, as an outsider, she is the one who pierces through the surface without any scruples, only if she could have more screen time in it. The indie soundtrack is an understandable trapping of the prevalent mumblecore output, it's ambient, moody and meditative, tailor-made to outline the disposition of the storyline. Collectively speaking, the films attempt to be artistic and unique, it could have hit the bull- eye with all such a talented group, only if it could subtract the permeating tint of narcissism, and conjure up some more salient epiphany. At last, the THEM version abridges some minor sequences and merges HIM and HER with an intact take on the proceedings. There is no new scenes added, so one can choose to watch HIM and HER, or THEM, either is sufficiently competent to disclose its allure and drawbacks.

This review is for both the HIM and HER versions of the movie. please note this is just one guy's opinion.. My friend who I watched the movie with loved it.. unfortunately, I did not have the same experience.THE GOOD: 1. The acting, except for Jessica Chastain's performance, is good and all of the actors did their jobs well considering the script. Jess Weixler as the sister did exceptionally well for such a small part. She carried all the scenes in which she appears. 2. Sound and editing. I could hear and understand all of the dialog spoken. The transitions between scenes and the flow of the storytelling felt very natural. THE BAD: 1. The story & dialog felt very contrived & pretentious. A couple deals with the death of their infant son and their relationship breaks down afterward. This is the root of the story but the way these characters deal with such a tragedy is what I found to be so contrived.For example: James McAvoy's Character Conor has a pet goldfish "Ralph" and it dies when his Dad accidentally overfeeds or feeds it the wrong food. The two men have a "heart to heart" talk during a walk to the river to dispose of Ralph's corpse, which is in a little cardboard box, by throwing it in the river. seriously, who would do that? would you do that?another example is a scene where the two main characters are sitting on the sidewalk having a normal discussion about their relationship troubles which is only very odd considering the circumstances that one of them just got hit by a car and The Rescue personal which is clearly there for the whole discussion appear to be just standing around off screen waiting for them to finish the conversation before they load him into the ambulance.There are many more moments like these and it may seem trivia and unimportant to some but for me it is this lack of attention to details that break the story. 2. The cinema photography is too dark in quite a few scenes and the soft blue color correction tint used is an interesting choice and will probably not be a problem for most people but i found it distracting. It took me out of the movie viewing experience just by the fact that I noticed it. 3. Jessica Chastain.. Her acting or her character in this movie rubbed me the wrong way.. i found it wooden. She was unable to emote in a believable manner.. I did not like or sympathize with her character at all but i am not sure whether it is her performance or the way her character is written.. maybe we are not suppose to like her and the fact that her character has difficulty expressing emotion could be intentional.. if so mission accomplished.4.The relationship between the two main characters is strange from the beginning and why in the world the main guy would want to stay with a such a flaky, cold and emotional distant person is beyond me.I watched both movies back to back. The HIM version first and then HER. I liked HIM better than HER but overall hated THEM both. Mediocrity at its best and a complete waste of time unless you are a film maker or screenwriter looking to learn from someone else's mistakes.side note: watch THE ACCIDENTAL TOURIST instead which also stars William Hurt and contains the very same subject matter of a couple that deals with the loss of their son and the break-up of their marriage.