Puzzle

Based on the Argentinean film Rompecabezas, Puzzle follows meek housewife Agnes (Kelly Macdonald) as she discovers a passion for solving jigsaw puzzles and subsequently connects with an eccentric millionaire (Irrfan Khan’s Robert) – with the movie detailing Agnes and Robert’s efforts at preparing for a puzzle-solving competition. (There’s also an ongoing emphasis on the impact Agnes’ increasingly assertive attitude has on her husband and two teenage sons.) Filmmaker Marc Turtletaub has infused Puzzle with an exceedingly subdued feel that proves an effective complement to Polly Mann and Oren Moverman’s quiet and somewhat uneventful screenplay, with the movie, at the outset, benefiting substantially from Macdonald’s incredibly sympathetic and charming work as the mousy central character. It does become increasingly clear, however, that there’s perhaps just not enough material here to sustain a feature-length running time, as the story’s unapologetic slightness is pushed to its breaking point during a progressively erratic midsection – thus ensuring that Puzzle, as it moves forward, suffers from a decidedly hit-and-miss feel that’s generally more the latter than the former. The spinning-its-wheels effectively (and demonstrably) dulls the impact of the picture’s third-act revelations, which is too bad, certainly, given that there’s a palpable kernel of a good idea here (and Macdonald’s consistently captivating performance undoubtedly deserves better than this).

** out of ****