By the Sea (2015) Review

Lucas Versantvoort / 11 Dec 2015

I can't be the only one who was baffled by this film's trailer: a relationship drama? With Brangelina? Written and directed by Jolie? I just didn't see it working, especially since I've heard conflicting things about her capabilities as a writer/director. By the Sea, while not an outright bad film, suffers from poor story design, rendering the central dramatic twist--and therefore my reason for caring--emotionally inert.

Roland (Brad Pitt) and Vanessa (Jolie) have been married for 14 years and, for an as of yet unknown reason, have decided to travel the countryside in France. They stop and stay at a coastal hotel. They meet some of the locals, including their recently married neighbors. But all's not well: Roland and Vanessa have drifted apart due to some tragic event and will have to find out whether their relationship can endure.

If the film does something right, it's creating a convincing atmosphere. Jolie opts for a slow pace that allows you, like Roland and Vanessa, to wallow in this little town's dreamy quality and the feeling of being divorced from reality.

The film's central problem, however, is that it's predictable. A vocal, synth-pop orchestral version of Chopin's prelude op.28 no. 4 is tracked over the opening credits. The music was used during Chopin's funeral; that and the music's melancholy quality already told me plenty about what's been plaguing this couple for years on end. This feeling was strengthened by all the things that reminded me of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf with Burton and Taylor. If you've seen that film, you've seen this one. 

The problem is that the film treats the dramatic event that shaped Roland and Vanessa's marriage as a mystery. But it's not especially hard to figure out, with all the similarities to Virginia Woolf, so when the big reveal comes, it doesn't feel like the culmination to an emotional journey. Worse, by scripting the film's central issue as a mystery, the script treats Vanessa like a mystery too which undermines our chances to empathize with her troubles, rendering the climactic scene emotionally inert. 

Even stranger is how passive Vanessa is in this regard. Roland practically forces her to face her fears and say what really troubles her (though I don't mean to make Roland look like an abusive husband). He's figured it out already, but needs her to say it too. I can't imagine that basically putting words into someone's mouth is the best way to 'let the healing begin'. I thought that someone has to figure it out 'on their own' with the subtle guidance of the expert. So, not only does the climax lack emotional punch, but it doesn't even feel like she had a say in reaching this enlightenment.

By the Sea isn't the trainwreck I might be making it out to be. The Pitt-Jolie interplay does occasionally yield its own rewards, although I'm not sure whether their playing the leads is simply due to their chemistry or that this is supposed to be their Burton/Taylor-moment. In the end though, it's the film's predictable, Virginia Woolf-esque nature that makes it hard to stay invested in the trials and tribulations of this particular couple.