BEFORE: Film #5 for James McAvoy, and pretty much the entire cast of "Her" carries over also. It's everybody into the pool tonight as the "Him" and "Her" storylines come together at last. But somehow I feel this third film is not necessary at all, but I'm going to reserve my comments until after I watch it and confirm.
AFTER: It is as I feared, since I've seen both "Him" and "Her" storylines, "Them" is merely an editing together of both, and I fear not in the best way. I preferred the starting point of "Him", and "Them" shares the same beginning with "Her", which is more enigmatic. Now I realize that when someone takes two films that are over 90 minutes long and edits them together, the goal would be to avoid a three-hour long compilation. But still, 5 minutes at the beginning with Conor coming home from the bar and having that conversation with Eleanor, that would have gone a long way as an introduction to these two characters, for anyone who might not have seen the other two films. Starting the film on the bridge, well that's enigmatic, sure, but also confusing - plus it's been done before.
One thing I can say is that watching Conor and Eleanor separating for the third time, at least this film went quickly - two hours rolled by like it was nothing, because I'd seen it all before, I knew exactly what was going to happen next, but then again, there were no surprises to anticipate. It's like when I go back and watch the original "Star Wars: Episode IV", I know it's two hours long, but to me it feels like it takes about 5 minutes to watch, because I know every line and every upcoming action. I'm definitely ready to move on from this story, having seen it twice from each angle now.
I certainly recommend that you watch the two separate films, and I recommend starting with "Him" and following up with "Her". Or, if you only have a limited amount of time, or you only have access to "Them", you can proceed with caution, but I don't think you'll get the full experience if you just watch "Them". Like, who's the target audience here, people with terminal illnesses who don't have time left to watch 2 full films?
But hey, maybe you're the kind of person who likes everything to be straightforward and certain, and you don't want to go through the mental work of keeping the story straight from two different perspectives and then assembling it in your head. I get that, I've been there - if that's the case, then "Them" is definitely for you. But it's also quite generic, in some ways it resembles every simple romance movie that Hollywood puts out again and again, but the "Him" & "Her" combination is unique, I don't think I've ever seen two films designed to work together like this, where one fills in the gaps of the other.
My rating below represents my experience with "Them", which was a slog for me to get through simply because I'd seen it all before. But if you only watch "Them", then of course your mileage may vary. I can't un-see what I've seen already. And since this film had NO new material in it, I feel I must reserve the right to come back and delete this review if needed, like if I reach the end of 2018 and I need just ONE more slot in order to make a chain work. That would mean a lot of re-numbering, and it's something I've never done before, but this is a unique situation, being forced to watch through a film that's just comprised of two other films, shuffled together.
I can't make heads or tails out of the release schedule, either. The two films "Him" & "Her" debuted at film festivals in 2013, and by the time the film was released theatrically in 2014, the "Them" version had been edited together. And "Them" was then released one month BEFORE the other two - it just seems like a very odd strategy. Something unique and beautiful, a set of interlocking films, apparently got dumbed down for general release because some distributor didn't think that the audience would "get it". What a damn shame.
But I know that there is something universal about this story, especially if you watch all three films, which I cannot in good conscience recommend that anyone else do. There were elements of their break-up that reminded me of how I split from my first wife in 1996, and as a result of watching their story, over and over, I had that dream last night where my ex-wife tracks me down and knocks on my door and suggests we get back together, and I have to be the adult and remind her of the many reasons why that is not anything close to a good idea, not the least of which being that we're both married to other women now.
Also starring Jessica Chastain, Nina Arlanda, Viola Davis, Bill Hader, Isabelle Huppert, Nikki M. James, William Hurt, Jess Weixler, Ryan Eggold, Will Beinbrink, Wyatt Raiff (all carrying over from "The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Her"), Ciaran Hinds (last seen in "The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Him")
RATING: 3 out of 10 fireflies
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