The One I Love (2014)

Directed by: Charlie McDowell
Country: USA

Movie Review: It’s weird when you watch a movie whose ideas are immediately identified from other movies. That’s exactly what happened with Charlie McDowell’s debut feature film, “The One I Love”, a supernatural romantic comedy that explored the same ideas of parallel realities used in “Coherence”, but using them in a totally different approach, waiving the thrills and threats in favor of romance and some mild humor. In one scene towards the end, it also reminded me the Austrian drama “The Wall”, when Duplass’ character bumped into an invisible wall when tried to escape his other ‘self’. I know it’s confusing but allow me to explain. Ethan (Mark Duplass) and Sophie (Elisabeth Moss), in a marital crisis, are advised by their therapist to spend a weekend in a vacation house. The first night started well: a romantic dinner, relaxing conversation, and they even smoked a joint smoked to facilitate their interaction. But they made an intriguing discovery, realizing that another Ethan and Sophie live nearby, in a different reality that can interact with theirs. A strange dance of dual realities starts, along with a constant search for what is or what is not ‘real’, most of the time using a volatile unfolding in Justin Lader's script. The fact of the other ‘selves’ have been accepted easily, turned the film into a bland exercise that becomes a bit messy in terms of feelings by the end. The humor wasn’t so clever as I expected, and for me “The One I Love” wasn’t particularly surprising or satisfying. The performances by Duplass, who also produces, and Moss, were crucial to make it stand in the limits of watchable.