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Nights and Weekends (2008)
A realistic look into a modern relationship
Rated: n/a (Contains nudity and strong language) | Review date: 11-Oct-2009
Joe Swanberg and Greta Gerwig’s Nights and Weekends follows a long distance relationship between two twenty-somethings over the period of roughly a year. The film goes back and forth between Chicago and New York, but only a few scenes take place outside of an apartment. The couple, played by co-directors/writers Joe Swanberg and Greta Gerwig, try to make the best out of the little time they have together. However, they still always dread saying goodbye each time.
The film starts off fairly strong, but slowly begins to become repetitive. The shaky hand-held camera and what I can assume is improvised dialog make the film seem natural and realistic, almost like a documentary. That is not necessarily a bad thing, and I’d like to point out that I personally am a fan of the low budget, natural (otherwise known as “mumblecore”) works. The situations in Nights and Weekends are all too real, and anyone who’s been in a serious relationship could concur. The drama, the emotions, and the sex are played out very authentically and believable, making up some of the best features of this picture.
However, a movie can only go so far relying on believable and relatable situations. Where Nights and Weekends fails is in it’s inability to actually tell a full story. We observe our characters, James and Mattie, during their most intimate and emotional moments, but that’s as far as it goes. We never really know why they are not living together (or not planning to), nor is it clear why their relationship is still continuing. While leaving these things out wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, they could have provided for a more interesting story. I’m not suggesting it be dumbed down and spelled out for us, but I can’t help but feel like it lacked something in those aspects.
Towards the end of the film Mattie becomes unexplainably anxious and emotional, while equally James becomes less involved. This is basically the only development we see throughout the movie. My main discrepancy with this film is that it’s drawing a thin line between being an artistic portrayal of modern relationships and being an extended episode of True Life. There’s basically no ending, just a repetition of the same interactions that the main characters have throughout the film. The ending we’re presented with was one that, while credible, left me hanging.
In the end, the movie was realistically acted, extremely believable (and close to home at points), but just not complete in my opinion. The film works as a piece of art, but it just didn’t have anything that made the story stick out. I was drawn in to it, waiting for something to happen, some kind of resolution between the two, but it just never came. Overall it was a beautiful and pleasant film to watch, just lacking a little purpose.
