The Killing of Two Lovers
A marriage in crisis in rural Utah is given a nuanced reading in Robert Machoian’s outstandingly acted drama.
Born in California, in 1977, Robert Machoian made his first film in 2008 and has been prolific ever since. However, much of his work has been in documentaries - both shorts and features - and The Killing of Two Lovers is his first solo drama as writer and director. It follows on from three comparable pieces not seen here which he made with a co-director, Rodrigo Ojeda-Beck. It’s hardly surprising, then, that his name is new to me and that fact increased the impact of the film's first images, a pre-credit sequence which is absolute perfection. Without giving away what it shows, I can say that from the very first shot - a close-up of a man’s face - the grip on the audience is remarkable and it is achieved without any background information being offered: the intensity of the situation is enough in itself to rivet us, after which the scene breaks off unresolved while yet allowing the sequence to conclude amongst wintry weather conditions that count as an unforced metaphor for the chill of the drama about to unfold. As a striking opening it brings to mind the start of Catherine Corsini's film Leaving (2009) but, if anything, this introductory scene is superior even to that.
The Killing of Two Lovers takes place in rural Utah and, regardless of the potential action that the title leads one to expect, it emerges as a quiet, studied portrait of a marriage under stress. David (Clayne Crawford) is a man in his thirties whose once stable life with his wife, Nikki (Sepideh Moafi), is no longer secure despite the fact that they have a teenage daughter, Jess (Avery Pizzuto) and three young boys (Arri, Ezra and Jonah Graham). The couple realise that they have reached a crisis point and each has given the other freedom, albeit that they might yet overcome their differences. However, when within the terms of their agreement Nikki takes up with a man named Derek (Chris Coy), that development disturbs not only Jess but David himself. We know that David is quite as much devoted to the children as Nikki is, but we have also seen that he can be volatile and that there is a side to him, often hidden, that could easily lead to violence being perpetrated.
Regardless of where events might lead, this is a film prepared to take its time and in doing so it successfully aspires to making its characters feel very real. At times it might even remind you of the work of Kelly Reichardt and it certainly makes the setting very much part of the tone. In a fine cast Clayne Crawford is outstanding, but Machoian, whose skills extend to his work as editor, may not have fully achieved what he intended. He is on record as saying that he wanted to avoid any of the central figures from emerging as the villain of the piece and he does, indeed, prevent that. Even so, the narrative is so concentrated on David that the film seems to unfold from his viewpoint and, while there’s a sense that his past history has contributed to the seeming inconsistencies in his character, this aspect is underdeveloped. Similarly, the film might have gained if we had seen more of Nikki and Derek. For these reasons The Killing of Two Lovers never quite becomes the masterpiece that certain scenes lead one to expect. Nevertheless, both Machoian and Crawford are talents to watch and this is a film that will stay in the memory.
MANSEL STIMPSON
Cast: Clayne Crawford, Sepideh Moafi, Chris Coy, Avery Pizzuto, Bruce Graham, Arri Graham, Ezra Graham, Jonah Graham, Barbara Whinnery, Jeremy Davis, Noah Kershisnik, John Billings.
Dir Robert Machoian, Pro Scott Christopherson, Screenplay Robert Machoian, Ph Oscar Ignacio Jiménez, Ed Robert Machoian.
Back40 Pictures/Odd Man Out Cinema-Curzon Artificial Eye.
85 mins. USA. 2020. Rel: 4 June 2021. Cert. 15.