Entanglement

Entanglement casts Thomas Middleditch as Ben Layton, a depressive figure still reeling from a recent breakup and coping from a few failed suicide attempts when he meets and falls for a quirky woman named Hanna (Jess Weixler) – with the movie detailing the rocky trajectory of their inevitable relationship. There’s little doubt that Entanglement gets off to an almost unreasonably underwhelming start, as director Jason James, working from Jason Filiatrault’s script, delivers an excessively off-the-wall opening stretch that’s rife with eye-rollingly idiosyncratic elements (eg a montage of Ben’s unsuccessful efforts at killing himself). The introduction of Weixler’s oddball character only perpetuates the movie’s off-puttingly wacky atmosphere, as Hanna comes off as a prototypical example of the dreaded Manic Pixie Dream Girl trope and, as such, it becomes virtually impossible to work up any real interest in or enthusiasm for Ben and Hanna’s ensuing relationship. It’s clear, then, that Entanglement benefits substantially from the stellar work of its two stars, as both Middleditch and Weixler deliver impressively strong work that’s often far more considered and nuanced than the material seems to deserve. And although the actors’ chemistry together ultimately translates into a somewhat watchable vibe, Entanglement‘s third-act twist, which attempts to bring context to the otherwise silly narrative, isn’t able to pack the punch that James is obviously striving for and it’s finally impossible to label the film as anything more than a lamentably forgettable misfire.

** out of ****