I enjoy small-scale independent films when they are tightly written, well acted and have something to say about humanity. Puzzle is a perfect example of how to do it well. The film follows Agnes (Kelly Macdonald), an unfulfilled housewife and mother, as she stumbles upon a creative outlet for her unexpressed desire to live life more fully. The seemingly simple step of joining someone to solve jigsaw puzzles provides the freedom to try new things and to begin to think of her own needs.
Marc Turtletaub’s film is quiet and contemplative, filmed largely in natural light, about ordinary people and the elusive nature of personal fulfillment. Agnes is a fully-functioning wife and mother, yet all her energies are devoted to her husband and family. When, on a whim, she answers a request for a puzzle partner, she finds that not only is she extremely fast and efficient at putting the pieces together, the process is deeply satisfying for her. She begins a relationship with her puzzle partner, Robert (Irrfan Khan), and begins to assert herself as she never has before.
This is more than a feminist diatribe about the subservience of housewifery; it is one character’s blossoming into full personhood, finally being able to feel and say and demand what one wants out of life as an equal to others. The script by Polly Mann and Oren Moverman, based on a 2009 Argentinian film by Natalia Smirnoff, allows Agnes to develop realistically and without histrionics; when her husband Louie (David Denman) demands to know what is going on with her, Agnes is finally able to say “I don’t have to tell you anything” and she means it. Her choices are measured and considered, and she is clearly experimenting with her newfound courage.
Puzzle isn’t a great movie; it is slow and rarely exciting, but that isn’t the point. It is a beautifully moulded character study about a woman who happens to finally find herself in middle age, and who takes steps to learn all about herself while she can best profit from experience. It is a thoughtful story — especially at the conclusion — when Agnes defies expectations all over again, designed to make viewers think about what they would choose to do. Puzzle is a very interesting, engrossing movie. ☆ ☆ ☆. 6 November 2018.