By the Sea

It’s often said that it takes a full week of vacation before your body starts to slow down and you can truly relax.

Writer/Producer/Director Angelina Jolie Pitt’s By the Sea moves at the languid pace of someone who’s been on vacation for more than week.  Unfortunately, I’ll venture that 99% of the people who see this film won’t be in the same state and will be WANTING FOR SOMETHING TO HAPPEN!  (Is this an homage to Alain Resnais's Last Year at Marienbad?)

The story takes place in the mid-70s and involves an American couple…a depressive wife, who was once a dancer, and her inebriated husband, who has writer’s block…, on vacation in a sleepy seaside French town.  Distant from each other…we don’t know why…, they sleep, smoke, eat and repeat until younger French honeymooners show up and stay in the adjacent suite. 

Mrs. Depressive finds a hole in the wall between the rooms and the Americans finally become active as voyeurs. 

Here we have, arguably, two of the most beautiful women in the world (Angelina and Mélanie Laurent) plus female heartthrob Brad Pitt and find ourselves wondering why they are spending their time doing this film and why we’re spending our time watching it. Yet, we’re not truly upset because Cinematographer Christian Berger is showing them and the scenery in such a delicious way, we become voyeurs, as well.

Yet, the real star is never seen, though he or she should be credited, because everyone in the audience…man and woman alike…walks out wondering aloud, who did the incredible work on Ms. Jolie Pitt’s breasts. 

Perhaps that was the real reason for doing the film?

I give By the Sea a 3 out of 5.