Film Review: Puzzle Shows The Quiet Splendor In Everyone
Synopsis: PUZZLE is a closely observed portrait of Agnes, who has reached her early 40s without ever venturing far from home, family or the tight-knit immigrant community in which she was raised by her widowed father. That begins to change in a quietly dramatic fashion when Agnes receives a jigsaw puzzle as a birthday gift and experiences the heady thrill of not only doing something she enjoys, but being very, very good at it.
After years of concerning herself exclusively with the needs and wants of her husband Louie and sons Ziggy and Gabe, Agnes has found something that she wants to do. Stepping out of her domestic bubble to pursue her new hobby, Agnes meets Robert, a wealthy, reclusive inventor who immediately recognizes her talent and recruits her as his partner for an upcoming world jigsaw tournament. Each day she spends out in the world, puzzling and conversing with Robert, takes Agnes further along on the road to a new understanding of herself and her strengths. With that understanding come new insights and an assertiveness that finds her speaking out on her own behalf and pushing back against the assumptions and routines that have until now defined her role in her family. Ultimately, Agnes will decide for herself what comes next.
There is a natural smallness to humanity that both alarms and ignites us. Just look at the sky, and you will feel this immense smallness drape over you. The reality is that humans are all figments of time and space, which means finding our meaning is up to us. In Puzzle, a woman finds meaning through a childhood, jigsaw game.
Written by Natalia Smirnoff and directed by Marc Turtletaub, the film works hard to make Agnes feel repressed. Played by Kelly Macdonald, the meek quietness of this character confounds you, but Macdonald uses her eyes and her hands to make you feel like each piece of the puzzle she puts down is an emotional earthquake. In her daily life, Agnes is a good mom to Ziggy (Bubba Weiler) and Gabe (Austin Abrams), and a good wife to Louie ( David Denman), but that is not the argument. Yes, they are an average, “happy” family, and they “work” together. Yet, there is a fire or rather a “connection” that is missing. It is as if Agnes is running through her life because she has to, but then puzzles and Irrfan Khan’ s Robert enter, and, suddenly, she is not just giving to others; she is investing.
No one can explain why humans have certain interests or like certain things. At first, you may wonder why “puzzles” ignite Agnes so much, especially, because she already feels so bored with life. While I like puzzles, if I am in need of passion and excitement, they are not my “go-to”.Yet, as the film progresses and her bond with Robert grows, you realize why this woman would be so attracted to puzzles and him; they are mindful. Together, they becomes the greatest, intellectual sources in Agnes life, and provide her the space to say, “I feel, too. I need, too. I want, too.” With Robert, she receives from herself and him the permission to be a blatantly thinking, feeling, and giving human being. Khan gives Robert a quiet elegance similar to Macdonald’s Agens. They who see the depth of each other’s spirit like a mine of wealthy resources. Luckily, Khan has a firm presence to him that amps how two solid souls soften to each other, and shows the heart rises when a person respects another’s mind.
If Puzzle was a candle, it would have a slow, dramatic burn. It is a quiet film that uses its cinematography to turn the mundane into splendidness. Yet, that is the whole message of the film; there is a silent splendor to every human being, and the greatest love comes from those who can hear it. Thus, instead, what fascinates me most about Puzzle, and, perhaps, is a warning to viewers is the message to not let life go by without finding out who you are. Agnes has family, friends, and a suburban home, but has no self-identity or self-actualization. In a way, she is every woman/ human being’s hidden nightmare: to wake up one day and ask….. is this my life? Yet, Puzzle shows, as long as you are breathing, there is still time to discover yourself. Puzzle comes out in theatres July 20.
