Honestly, I have never encountered a screening of such intensity and relativity to this day-to-day life and dogma governed charade.What you as a viewer are about to encounter is a defiance against your deep down inner skeptical thoughts. For some, this might be perceived as an embodiment of pure heretics. But rest assure viewer, you might be a one who is objective in perspective, and ingest this screening as a wake-up call for what you are missing on in life, or... a certification for whatever life you lead with your significant other, for the latter I'm sure was not forced onto you but chosen, chosen by your true undeniable true tendencies.Enjoy my dear viewer this piece of art from whatever display box you have at home.

Saw this last night (I consider it one film, saw both parts back to back in that order). Such a lovely, touching film, and not at all what I expected when I first heard about the project. First off, I just want to say that I find the title really gimmicky and misleading. Okay, sure, it's technically not "wrong", but it just sounds like a lead-on for something it's not, such an easy way to grab audience's attention. The basic plot point that leads to the whole film has been done before (Rabbit Hole did it just a few years ago) and the whole film isn't trying to be anything other than an honest, captivating look at two characters' lives and the way they deal with this tragedy. For some reason I thought it was going to be this really daring film. I was wrong and I knew almost immediately, but I didn't mind. The script is fantastic, and the two leads superb. McAvoy actually impresses more in Her, and as a whole he's not really in Chastain's level, but he has some really strong scenes and as of now I'd have him in my Top 10 for Lead Actor (and he's in my top 3 for Filth, which is a better performance but an inferior film in every way). What can I say about Chastain? Her best performance alongside Zero Dark Thirty, and may very well be even better for the fact that she's able to play a much more rounded character in terms of emotions. What I've always found incredibly impressive about her as an actress is that, not only is she technically impeccable in all her work to a fault like so many other acclaimed actresses are, but she's also able to inhabit a character fully to the point that her technicality doesn't feel like we're watching her at a distance emotionally. That's a problem I have with some actresses working right now. They can be great, yeah, but can also hit notes technically well while feeling too much like it's all for show at times. I've never had that problem with Chastain. Her work here is among the best of the year and it's a shame that neither her or the fantastic film she's in are even getting mentions from critic bodies. If its because of the stupid "Them" decision, then what a shame... but it's most likely not, and that's an even bigger shame

This 2-part double feature, character study, and drama is slated to be shown as two separate films, but at its world premiere I was shown both films as one continuous feature length film. "The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby" will open in the coming months and stars the on screen talents of Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, Ciaran Hinds, Bill Hader, Viola Davis, Jess Weixler, and William Hurt. This film comes to us from writer and director Ned Benson, and this is his first full length feature film after successfully bringing to life many short films.Well people sometimes you talk about technical aspects of a film & I will talk about this film in such a manner, however sometimes you talk about a movie personally or how it struck you personally….and that's where I'm going to begin. This is the longest, most boring and pointless waste of time that I have come across in a good long while. To put it into perspective this is only a few moments shorter than "Titanic" or "Schindler's List", and either of those films could be considered a laugh-a-minute compared to this thing. You guys out there know that I never spoil movies but this is a spoiler-free review because nothing happens in this movie, which means that I couldn't spoil it if I even wanted to. All of the people in this movie just move from scene to scene where nothing is connected in such a way as to propel the narrative forward, and to put it in the simplest of terms if "Eleanor Rigby" was any more dull then I would've been watching real life.In my opinion filmmaker Ned Benson violated the very first rule of why people plan to take time out of their day, why people put money aside for the multiplex, and why in most instances that people travel a good distance to a theater…they do all of these things because they want to be entertained. I'm going to tell you guys something right now, and all of the artsy fartsy people aren't going to be able to give me their character study bullshit about this movie because I have an answer for them. The answer is this. The two ladies behind me we're snoring most of the film, the guy sitting next to me was frequently bitching and moaning about how terrible this was to his wife, and I myself had to get up out of my seat & stand in the back of the theater for a few moments to avoid falling asleep myself. "The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby" was screened for us at 2:00 in the afternoon so I ask you, does this sound good to anyone? These are my true and honest experiences sitting at the world premiere, and I'm not going to change my position because most other critics agree to like this film.I will say however after going through my notes that I will complement & give credit where credit is due. First the girl that portrays Chastain's sister is independent film queen Jess Weixler, and she is a brilliant breath of fresh air and a sign of hope during a duration of time that is anything but speedy. Her scenes with Chastain are probably the project's best, and Chastain is once again well above average. She's solidly founded in this character and I can sympathize with her, but at the same time she is such an indecisive and morose individual that you just want to give her a swift kick in the derrière and tell her to get over it! Make a decision….do something! On the flip side James McAvoy stood out to me as lighter and funnier than his counterpart. Even though McAvoy's Conor is anything but a perfect character, I did always feel like he was more of a victim than anyone else. Without question the project always plays to the favor of the Eleanor character, even though in my humble opinion she is a very flawed protagonist. Then I will concede that McAvoy's buddy played by Bill Hader was such a welcomed treat, and that's because without him and his humor everyone would have been snoring instead of just the two ladies behind me.This writer and director crafts a quality looking picture, but fills it with a central heroine that just doesn't know what she wants. Boo-Freakin-Hoo, and welcome to the real world! There is her father, her mother, her sister, her professor, and most all her husband right off the top of my head that are all ready and willing to help this character, but the problem is that she just doesn't want it. Then I just couldn't get over how many times Eleanor would do something with no motivation or explanation, and this lead to more than a few unresolved conflicts.At 3 hours and 15 minutes "The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby" felt so long that I actually thought that it was December when I came out. Boy I can't stress enough again how very lucky I was to attend the world premiere screening where I was able to see both parts of this "Character Study". You know because 1 hour and 35 minutes just wasn't enough enjoyment for 1 afternoon, no this guy had to pile on another 1 hour and 40 minutes just in case you couldn't get enough the first go-round. What really sucked more than anything was that out of the entire film festival this was by far the longest film that I saw, and was unfortunately one of the worst as well. At the end of this investment of time you truly have learned almost nothing new than when you began this journey over 3 hours previous. Nick's Reel Screen Review is a very dismal 1 star out of 4, and that is for the very dismal, slow, and un-entertaining "The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby".

My full review can be found on "The Cinematic Conquest", a website."The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Him and Her" isn't nearly as innovative as it seems to believe it is. When I read the basic plot description, I figured it could either be a masterpiece, or an exercise in pseudo-intellectual cinema. Somewhat to my surprise, "The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Him and Her", falls into neither category. The film doesn't approach 'masterpiece' status, and for the most part, it never comes across as pretentious. Where director Ned Benson succeeded is in his casting, but where he experienced major fault is through his dialogue and misinterpreting the emotional capacity of what he'd written."Would you still love me if I didn't have enough money to pay for dinner?", Conner asks his will-be wife, the ill-named Eleanor Rigby. They soon find themselves running down the sidewalk, escaping the manager. It becomes apparent that we are witnessing a moment in the life of a couple who are genuinely in love. We fast forward several years later, and their relationship is no longer as simple to define. After losing their beloved one-year old child, and a suicide attempt on behalf of Eleanor, they find themselves separated. The film(s) chronicle the perspective of the two characters and the events they experience while apart from each other. In the end, it's a testament of the relationship between a man and a woman.Jessica Chastain has quickly risen to the top actresses in the past two years. In selecting a wide variety of roles, Chastain is proving her talent, and creating a promising future for herself. "The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Him and Her" is simply another strong step in proving her talent to audiences. Her neurotic character is easily the strongest part of the film. James McAvoy is also strong in this film, yet his character seems as though he was given a little less to work with. It must have been difficult for McAvoy considering his character is very plain and simple, whereas the character of Eleanor is more of an enigma, that we explore later on in the film. Nonetheless, McAvoy gives a good performance - yet not a great one. The supporting cast was another highlight of the film. "SNL" comedian, Bill Hader gives a chance to prove he's more than a comedy actor, a chance most people in his field aren't given. His character felt very natural, as Conner's best friend. Viola Davis is the female version of Hader's character, as she befriends Rigby. Davis delivers yet another clever performance in this film, yet, she does lack a little bit of gravity which would have transformed her role in "The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Him and Her" from being 'funny' to being 'funny' and 'moving'. Ciaran Hinds is decent within this film, yet a great deal of his dialogue is overly sappy, that I found it fairly difficult to take him seriously. Although his performance was fine, it was difficult to separate his acting from the character's dialogue, so ultimately, I wasn't too fond of his performance in the film. Isabelle Huppert is an incredibly versatile actress. It's astonishing to compare her utterly frightening role in Haneke's "The Piano Teacher" to her role as the caring mother of Eleanor Rigby in this film. Although her character wasn't the most essential to the film, I think it merited a fair bit within the details. However, in the supporting cast, the greatest performance went without a doubt to William Hurt, who plays the role of Eleanor's father. We only see him in "Her", and for a majority of that, his performance is very subtle, until the end when it becomes vital to the thematic portion of the film, and the ending. He delivers a small scene which shines very brightly, establishing him as a very powerful actor (not that we don't already know this).During a great deal of "Him" I was struck by how ridiculously melodramatic a lot of the dialogue came across as. The scene between Eleanor and Conner felt highly unnatural, and I was highly disappointed. Luckily, either the dialogue improved - or I subconsciously adjusted (although I highly doubt that). No matter what it was, it certainly interfered with my enjoyment of "The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Him and Her".The overall innovation of the plot line, is much slimmer than I'd expected. For one, the plot is stretched out for longer than it needed to be. It should have been one film, with a little cut out. As well, the details separating the two perspective is incredibly subtle - but nonetheless, meaningless. We have sit through sequences we've already watched (although Benson did use separate takes and separate angles - which was not a good choice in my opinion). I could understand using different angles, to capture how the other person would see the situation, but because of the different takes, the lines were occasionally different. As well, the idea behind the 'two perspectives' was used somewhat stupidly during some parts of the films. The repeat scenes were used so some of the lines were reversed from the other version of the scene. For example, if in one scene in "Him" Conner had said "I'm sorry", when we see in "Her", Eleanor might have said "I'm sorry", instead of Conner. Fairly pointless use of what could have a genuinely innovative concept.Overall, "The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Him and Her" is a film that should be seen for its great performances, yet all in all, it's not a breath of fresh cinema, as I had hoped.