Take This Waltz

Michelle Williams, Seth Rogen, Luke Kirby

Directed by Sarah Polley

Rating: C+

Margot (Williams) has a  restless nature. She obviously wants something more to happen in her life than the one she is living with her tame but loving husband, Lou (Rogen). They have fun together, but five years of marriage later and Margot is bored with the relationship. Lou writes cookbooks and is constantly making some chicken recipe in the kitchen. From what we see of their relationship, they love each other but there's no passion.

Coincidence seems to happen a lot when Margot meets Daniel (Kirby) in Nova Scotia. They happen to sit next to each other on the plane ride home. They share a taxi because after getting comfortable with each other up in the air, they find out they live near one another. Daniel says he can just walk home from Margot's house, only to get out of the taxi, point across the street and say "I live there". It's only inevitable the two should meet again, and with each encounter Margot is allowing herself to develop feelings for her neighbor.

It's hard to understand what Margot says sometimes when she decides to talk in a baby voice. Her character is scared of taking chances. Daniel is a big risk to take but he encourages her flirtations and makes her feel bold enough to ask "What would you do to me now?" when they're alone together. Margot tries seducing her husband at the wrong moment, like when he's cooking, and his rejection makes her feel embarrassed. So she flees to Daniel who won't rebuff her advances.

"Take This Waltz" changes the "unhappily married woman has an affair" plot. Instead, the married woman is in love with her husband. She was happy with what she had until she met Daniel, who she couldn't stay away from. There's not enough character development to understand why Margot has these fears, and there's that feeling that Daniel could be a stalker, even if it's just coincidence how Margot and Daniel meet. There's a likability to the movie. It's nice to see Seth Rogen in a role where he's not crude, but kind of genuinely sweet.