[yasr_overall_rating]
An ordinary woman makes an extraordinary decision which will change her life forever.
Gemma Arterton has impressive acting chops. You may not know that, considering the majority of her career choices thus far. Arterton appeared in arguably the worst Bond film in the series, “Quantum of Solace”; one of the worst Guy Ritchie efforts, “RocknRolla”; one of the worst fantasy films of this – or any – decade, “Clash of the Titans”; one of the worst video game adaptations, “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time”; and one of the worst movies based on a fairy tale, “Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters.” The couple of times she was given a chance to show off her skills – like in the underrated comedies “Tamara Drewe” and “The Voices” – her performances went by unnoticed, the gems slipping under the radar. While the same fate may very well befall “The Escape,” writer/director Dominic Savage’s low-key drama serves as the finest showcase of Arterton’s considerable talent yet.
Savage, whose background consists mostly of TV work and an acting credit in “Barry Lyndon” (!), impresses here with an assured, minimalist approach. Simplicity is key. The focus is on Arterton’s Tara, who goes through a major midlife crisis and decides that whole “marriage and kids” thing may not be for her. Both ballsy and morally misguided, selfish and honest, Arterton’s Tara sears the screen with raw emotion. While her decision to leave her somewhat distant but loving husband Mark (Dominic Cooper, reuniting with Arterton after “Tamara Drew”) and two children may be difficult to justify – your appreciation of the film will depend on whether you sympathized with Meryl Streep’s character in “Kramer vs. Kramer” – Arterton makes the character as relatable as a mother abandoning her children to find herself could be. Just watch her buy that train ticket, her hastily-packed bag with trembling hands, and you’ll know what I mean.
I appreciated the mirroring images that open and close the film. I enjoyed the grey hues with which director Ben Wheatley’s go-to cinematographer Laurie Rose paints every frame. While somewhat emotionally muted, Mark and Tara’s relationship is realistically portrayed. The film really comes to life in its second half, when Tara departs on a melancholic trip to Paris, conveying both the sense of freedom, guilt and dislocation one would feel in her shoes.
Yet the film also suffers from a lack of nuance. At 105 minutes, the artsy interludes of pretty sunlight bursting through blurry trees get wearying, as do the odd prolonged, inconsequential sequences of Tara gazing out the window or Tara walking down a street or Tara… you get my drift. Savage could have easily trimmed down the running time by 15 minutes or substituted the redundant parts with more memorable ones, making the experience that much more immediate/visceral. All in all, though, this is a fine little indie drama, and proof that its lead actress can hold the screen with the best of them. Which I’m sure she will do again, in the upcoming “Vita and Virginia,” a film that centers on the love affair between Sackville-West (Arterton) and Woolf (Elizabeth Debicki).
But it’s Arterton’s upcoming “SpaceDog and TurboCat” I’m really excited about.
In theaters May 11th
