TANGLES
(The Middleburg Film Festival ran October 15-18 in Middleburg, VA. Check out Chris Reed’s Tangles movie review from the fest! Seen it? Join the conversation with HtN on our Letterboxd Page.)
All of the above plus gorgeous, mostly black-and-white visuals are the reason to watch, with the cinematic icing on top the powerhouse voice cast. There’s Julia Louis-Dreyfus (You Hurt My Feelings) as Midge, the afflicted matriarch; Bryan Cranston (Chili Finger) as her husband, Rob; Abbi Jacobson (6 Balloons), as Sarah, the protagonist; Beanie Feldstein (How to Build a Girl), as Hannah, Sarah’s younger sister; Samira Wiley (Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale) as Donimo (not Domino, thank you), Sarah’s girlfriend; and Seth Rogen (The Invite)—also a producer on the project—as Zach, Hannah’s boyfriend. And so many more. The overall talent on display impresses throughout.
The story begins in childhood, young Sarah convinced that there are monsters in the wallpaper. Supermom Midge comes in, flashlight in hand like a lightsaber, to save the day—excuse me, night—banishing the evil creatures through energetic thrusts and parries. We can tell she is not only a great parent, but a really fun one, too.
Cut to 1999, with Sarah now a twentysomething living in San Francisco (she’s from Maine), slowly finding her way through the scary adult world of jobs, relationships and—gasp—sex. She’s out and proud (if timid), working for the magazine Outspoken as an office assistant and parttime illustrator. When her boss, Paula (stand-up comic Wanda Sykes), invites her to contribute drawings to the next issue, it seems her star is rising. Now, if only she could get laid.
And then, just as things are coming together, Sarah discovers, on a trip home, that all is not exactly right in the family domain. Despite everyone’s denial, Midge is clearly not the person she was not long ago, having just lost her longtime teaching position after a workplace argument. Try as Rob, Hannah, and Midge’s sisters might want to pretend otherwise, something will have to change. Easier said than done.
Tangles begins with a comical disclaimer announcing that “my family may remember this differently,” establishing the cheeky tone that undergirds the narrative. No matter how sad the tale, we never lose site of the fact that life is filled with unexpected joys. As someone whose own mother is now slowly vanishing into the same disease, I appreciate the reminder.
One of my favorite devices employed by Nelson are the quick interstitial plane rides (Sarah flies a lot, back-and-forth from California to Maine), the flight attendants’ usual announcements co-opted by Sarah’s insecurities. Laughter may not solve all problems, but it feels great. If you couldn’t tell already, I loved the film. Universal in scope thanks to its specificity of detail, Tangles delivers a moving testament to how love and memory (and jokes) help us bear overwhelming grief.
– Christopher Llewellyn Reed (@ChrisReedFilm)
