‘The One I Love’ Review: Refreshing

The formulaic Romantic Comedy genre is about unoriginal as it gets, guy and girl fall in love, guy screws up, girls hates guy, guys wins her back, guy and girl go on to live happily ever after.

Few films in recent memory have been able to shake things up, films like “(500) Days of Summer,” “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” and you can now add Charles McDowell’s “The One I Love” to that prestigious list.

Starring Mark Duplass (“The League”), Elizabeth Moss (“Mad Men”), and Ted Danson (“Bored to Death”); “The One I Love” is a case study of relationships and how couples after the relationship has gone stale they try to revitalize their love.

It is not a completely new concept, however, add a pinch of sci-fi and two leads whose chemistry and performances keep your eyes glued to the screen for its entire 91-minute runtime.

The films starts off with Ethan (Duplass) and Sophie (Elizabeth Moss) are at their therapist’s (Ted Danson) office. The married couple has lost their spark. The love that once burned bright is fading away. This session is intercut with a scene of Ethan and Sophie sneaking into a stranger’s pool, trying to recreate the moment where they fell in love. As they float in the pool and wait for the person to come out kicking and screaming for them to get out of the pool, it is clear that the stranger is not coming out and neither is the love they once had.

The therapist has a suggestion, a couple’s retreat. The retreat houses one couple at a time and every one of his patients he has referred to has come back happier, more in love than ever.

Ethan and Sophie decide to make the trip, hoping to create new romantic moments as oppose to acting out old ones. The first night at the retreat goes well, after smoking some pot and having a little whine, the night seemed perfect; however, after Sophie has a magical evening at the guesthouse with who she believes is Ethan the film takes a sharp turn.

The two soon realize that there is something off about the guesthouse.

What makes “The One I Love” such a refreshing film is it is an incredibly high concept film.

It kicks off like most indie romcoms, a voiceover playing through a montage about a deteriorating relationship and a last attempt at salvaging that relationship, but the addition of sci-fi adds a new dynamic to that typical indie romcom. That sci-fi element, not overdone or at the forefront of the film, it serves as a catalyst for the story, which is one of a couple who eagerly want their partner to revert back to that perfect person they once fell in love with.

Mcdowell, who makes his feature directorial debut with “The One I Love,” crafts a film that focuses solely on the characters, showcasing an eye for story telling beyond his years; many first time directors would fall in the traps of tackling a high concept story, which is go all in on the concept and overlook the characters at the center of the piece.

This being a film with only three characters, if the performances are not there, there is no picture. This is not a concern with “The One I Love” as Duplass and Moss anchor the film.

Duplass, no stranger to high concept indie romcoms, he starred in the brilliant 2012 film “Safety Not Guaranteed.” As Ethan, he is able to display that charm that has made him and indie-darling while playing a character who has become complacent in his love of is wife. Moss plays off this beautifully, not only being able to mesh well with Duplass, but her Sophie embodies a sentiment that is true in relationships that run its course, she is a woman who just wants her husband to be that spontaneous exciting person that made her smile when they teased each other by calling one another a “bitch.”

Ted Danson is just a familiar face in the film, he is not awful, Danson is just not in the film enough to have any real impact.

McDowell’s “The One I Love” breathes life into a genre that has become incredibly lifeless. Its high concept, horror movie-esque ending, and chemistry between its two leads make it a must see for anyone praying for a reason to be excited to see a romance film that is about real relationships.