Since the release of Rushmore 26 years ago, Jason Schwartzman has specialized in playing grumpy, strange characters with hidden feelings. You can see it in Asteroid Cityhis recent collaboration with Wes Andersonand even his role as a more boyish than royal Louis XVI. In Marie-AntoinetteHis career was aimed at a film like Between the templesan offbeat comedy in which he plays a widowed cantor in a New York synagogue as his precocious teenage boredom matures into full-blown middle-aged malaise. Directed and co-written by: Nathan Silver— an indie veteran with his first potential hit — this film is about behavior, not religion, and how Jews reconcile their traditions with modernity. The premise could be the stuff of a simple formula, but a few cinematic choices elevate the material to a higher level, making the characters and situations feel absolutely alive.
When we meet Ben (Schwartzman), he is too shy or traumatized to sing at regular Shabbat services. But instead of rabbi Bruce (Robert Smigel) to cover him, Ben makes a scene by running out of the synagogue. Ben is helpless and alone and finds himself in a bar where his guardian angel, a fellow guest, Carla (Carol Kane), feels sorry for him after he loses a fight with a stranger. As the two talk, Ben learns two surprising things about Carla: she was his music teacher many years ago and wants to be his bat mitzvah student. They form an unusual teacher-student pair, with Ben guiding her through her Torah portion while she charms him with details and stories from her past. Meanwhile, Ben’s mother, Myra (Caroline Aaron), has made it her mission to get him married. She arranges a series of disastrous dates for him until things go a little better with Rabbi Bruce’s daughter, Gabby (Madeline Weinstein) – at least until these conspiracies converge at a tense Rosh Hashanah dinner.
Together with co-screenwriter C. Michael B.Silver takes a wry look at the ways Jewish life can liberate or trap its followers. Sometimes the traps are small, like when Ben and Carla find themselves in a restaurant and Ben accidentally breaks kosher rules by eating a cheeseburger. Sometimes they’re bigger, like when Ben feels stifled by a community that only gets smaller after Gabby is welcomed into the fold. Kane is unabashed and strange and absolutely perfect as Carla, the only character who frees herself by choosing which customs to follow. But Between the temples is not just a critique of religion or culture; rather, it shows compassion for people who must reconcile their identities with their desires. Nowhere is this more evident than in the “date” scenes with Ben and Gabby: two lonely adults still effectively supervised by their elders. The two seek refuge in a cemetery, which leads to a seduction scene that is a high point of the film. It starts out as something transgressive and strange, but then becomes tender and sharply observed.
The film’s visuals and editing underline his astute sense of timing and observation. Between the temples was shot on 16mm film by cameraman Sean Price Williamswhich gives each scene a sheen and texture that most comedies never attempt to explore. Although Silver sets this film in the present day, the shots have a timeless quality, giving the impression that people like Ben have struggled with love and loss for centuries. Some scenes are quite beautiful, too, like when a despondent Ben strolls into a Catholic church to talk shop with a priest. By avoiding the gloss of digital photography, the film finds a wordless way to make us believe that these spotty, pale characters living modest lives are always authentic.
Regardless of the cinematography, the film’s real secret weapon that sets it apart from just another quirky comedy is the editing John MagaryIn 2014, Magary wrote and directed The improvementan unconventional comedy that unfolds with a kind of naturalism that tends towards cinematic anarchy. The same sensibility can also be found in Between the temples– Scenes are never edited the way you’d expect. Even a simple dialogue scene follows a unique rhythm, and this consistent avoidance of typical patterns leaves the audience with no choice but to be on guard and more engaged – not unlike the way Ben stumbles through one tense social situation after another. Unconventional editing also means the film forgoes normal comic timing, further blurring the line between comedy and cringe-worthy behavior.
Between the temples premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival in January, but it has since undergone significant rework. Silver trimmed the film by 20 minutes, mostly at the end, and changed the focus of Ben’s character development. This sharper, tighter cut is less about Ben’s return to the synagogue and more about him finding deeper meaning outside of a role that constrains him. Silver and his collaborators still maintain a certain ambiguity in Ben and Carla’s relationship, which starts out professional and platonic and then evolves in a different direction. Everyone who sees this film may have a different idea of their future, but there’s no denying that the only way through tradition is to embrace the ones that work and jettison the ones that don’t.
Between the temples will be released in cinemas in the region on August 23rd.
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