Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Seems like you may have to bring a lot of your own experience to this one to make it meaningful. I couldn't help get the feeling that w/d Ben Nelson was trying to revive our flagging interest by withholding vital information and by keeping Jessica C—albeit a brittle, clinically depressed JC—on screen as much as possible. Even the 30″ encounter with Bill Hader and Viola Davis's whacky psych lecture couldn't keep me from fidgeting with the Stop button. I enjoyed the Downtown locations and some of the interactions between Eleanor and her sister (nicely played by Jess Weixler), but after a couple of especially static, underwritten scenes we decided we'd had enough...

"The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Her" appeared to be an engaging movie about a woman whose life is turned upside down after a family tragedy and a spousal separation. What actually appeared in Writer-Director Ned Benson's film was a wishy-washy take on a confused woman who seeks family shelter after personal problems. The originality of this movie disappeared throughout its showing time; oh wait, on second thought, there was no appearance to begin with. I found the movie dreadfully boring. However, there is something here that salvaged this movie; and that comes in the form of the steady Jessica Chastain with her marvel performance as the title character. Chastain is one of, if not the best, actress working today. She always disappears into her character, and that is proved once again with her work here as Eleanor Rigby. However, I do not have the same sentiments for the supporting performances of this movie; which included (believe it or not) Viola Davis, James McAvoy, and William Hurt. Back to Jessie: It is too bad Chastain had to wrestle with the film's mundane storyline & screenplay. Benson actually filmed three versions of "The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby";one from the "her" perspective (meaning Eleanor), one from the "him" perspective (being Rigby's estranged husband Conor), and one from the "them" perspective (which I guess is the rest of the Rigby party). I experienced the "her" one. But something tells me that him or them is not much better than her; which pretty much sums up human gender interaction; whatever that means. Time for me to disappear. Goodbye! *** Average

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.

It's always great when festival films can hold onto that excitement even over a year from their premiere. Perhaps that magic comes from the intrigue in The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby's conceit. The content of the film is nothing new, just approached in a special way. A couple drift apart due to an unspeakable tragedy and try to make sense of the world. Sprinkled with introspective insights and anchored by terrific performances, it's truly bolstered through its enigma. Now I decided to watch Her first, arguably the more acclaimed of the pair, at least for Jessica Chastain. Although the director states that the films can be watched in any order, the premiere started with Him and in hindsight perhaps it offers key context that I should've dived into first, but I quite prefer the way I watched it even though the latter suffered.Knowing that it has a counterpart film gives Her an enigma and the film is enchanting, benefiting from a sparing use of James McAvoy. This is the Chastain show and she's the best I've seen her so far. Sometimes it teeters on being quirky for the sake of quirkiness the way indie movies do, but its subversive way it acknowledges and rejects clichés rings too true and dig deep. Perhaps as a result it is quite clichéd, but the nuanced and heavy hearted texture of the film with the soft autumnal cinematography and use of music makes it a human experience. It's such a melodic, delicate, intimate, introspective, melancholic and ultimately heartbreaking look at the pain of moving on, emotionally and in Eleanor Rigby's case, physically as she finds herself compelled to drift from place to place hoping that she can start fresh but never does. It's very satisfying that the film met high expectations, at least this half of the experiment.8/10