[yasr_overall_rating]
Agnes, taken for granted as a suburban mother, discovers a passion for solving jigsaw puzzles which unexpectedly draws her into a new world – where her life unfolds in ways she could never have imagined.
Based on the press materials, “Puzzle” looks like it might be another story about cerebral tournaments involving unassuming prodigies, along the lines of “Searching for Bobby Fisher.” Or perhaps – given his prominence in the promotional poster – that Irrfan Khan is the movie’s co-star. Neither would be correct. The film belongs to Kelly Macdonald, and the puzzle contest she engages in is nothing compared to the challenge she faces at home on her journey of discovery.
The film’s opening scene presents the basis for the storyline smartly. We see Agnes cleaning the house, busy preparing for a birthday party. She sets up chairs, hangs a small banner and brings out fresh tablecloths. As the party gets underway, she supplies trays of food to the indifferent guests while her husband quietly gets drunk. One of his buddies nudges him in the arm, causing a plate to drop and shatter on the floor. Agnes dutifully sweeps up the broken pieces and tries to reassemble them in the kitchen – a bit of foreshadowing. The scene comes to a head when Agnes brings out the birthday cake as everyone sings “Happy Birthday.” When Agnes herself blows out the candles, we understand her situation plainly.
Agnes’ husband Louis is an interesting buffoon of sorts, played empathetically by David Denman. He has effectively locked Agnes into the role of subservient wife. To his credit, Louis does not take his wife’s selfless devotion completely for granted. While other mechanics at work flirt with the customers, Louis instead brags about his woman at home. Nonetheless, he is utterly oblivious to Agnes’ plight or her nascent potential.
The long-married pair resides in suburban New Jersey in the same house where Agnes doted on her father, until his death. She now similarly dotes on her husband and sons. Louis is hidebound in a 1950s-style tradition. Dinner is served up at six o’clock every evening. Agnes buys the groceries, sets the table and prepares the food with no help from either her husband or two grown sons. The younger son Gabe is played by Austin Abrams, and the older Ziggy by Bubba Weiler in a standout performance.
Ziggy works for his father at the family-owned auto repair shop, though he doesn’t like the work and isn’t particularly good at it. Later, we learn that his real desire is to become a chef, a profession his father considers unmanly – with a hint that other more personal revelations may come from Ziggy in the days ahead.
Gabe is the book smart younger brother who sports a pretentious local yokel of a girlfriend named Nicki, an annoying vegan, self-effacing mainly for show. During dinner one evening, she bemoans the plight of poor Tibetans, the latest in no doubt a series of fashionable social causes she insipidly champions.
With what Gabe smugly mistakes for wisdom, he intones blithely at the kitchen table that he has decided to use money earmarked for college on an extended trip to Tibet with Nicki. After all, he says, travel can be considered an education too.
The one bright spot in the aftermath of Agnes’ solo birthday party production is an unusual gift – a one-thousand piece puzzle of a map of the world. Before she even opens the box, however, she points to Montreal on the cover, a city we later learn that she has always wanted to visit. Then we watch in amazement as Agnes quickly assembles the puzzle in short order. Then she takes it apart and reassembles just as quickly.
This unexpected insight causes Agnes to travel to New York to purchase additional puzzles. At the shop, she learns about a fellow named Robert, played by Irrfan Khan, who is looking for a puzzle partner. Intrigued, Agnes seeks him out. When they meet, she learns that he is not only a gifted jigsaw puzzler but also a wealthy inventor.
Agnes and Robert get to know each other in their twice-weekly meetings as preparation for a national tournament. Needless to say, all of this training takes Agnes away from her wifely duties, which does not sit well with Louis. As Agnes unwittingly transforms through her interaction with Robert, she begins to assert herself at home in ways even she could not have imagined earlier.
As the closing credits appear, life is filled with choices to make – not least of which is whether to leave her husband and join Robert in New York. However, the new Agnes is just beginning her sojourn and obviously in no hurry to arrive at whatever destination her future holds. In the final scene, we see her sitting pleasantly in a rail car, radiant as she makes a long overdue trip to Montreal.
Kelly Macdonald shines brightly once again in another of a long list of memorable roles. “Puzzle” is an enjoyable independent film that will linger with you long after you leave the theater.
Now playing in select theaters
