There's no doubt that Disobedience attempts to tell an important story about growing up gay in a fundamentalist religious community and the lasting impact such an experience could have on someone. But as much as I'd like to sing its praises for tackling the subject matter, the execution sadly just isn't there.
This is an incredibly self-serious film, which isn't a problem in of itself should it have contained the level of substance and drama to match that tone. Instead, Disobedience repeatedly offers up melodrama and clichés more befitting of a Lifetime movie, right down to a scene where one of the leads frantically chases after the other as she departs in a taxi. There's nothing inherently wrong with melodrama, but the problem is that the film has no self-awareness. These stiff, wooden, cheesy moments are presented as if this were an Oscar-worthy feature without any of the necessary depth or nuance in the screenplay to be on such a level.
Though Weisz and McAdams are talented actors who give the material their best effort, it's for naught as their roles are severely lacking in basic characterization - you can boil them down to "the defiant, rebellious one" and "the timid, repressed one" and you've basically got it covered. And there's barely any thematic exploration beyond the very surface-level notions of repression being negative, acceptance being positive, and the basic clash between fundamentalism and the modern era. The film drags on with very little in the way of plot or intrigue once the premise has been set up, and the overly serious tone becomes more and more suffocating as it plods along. It has a somewhat grating score as well that does not fit the material very well - lush. alternately melancholic and hopeful orchestration that reaches for a grandeur that the movie itself just doesn't justify.
I'm sad to have had such a negative reaction as I really would've loved to see a great film about this subject. Unfortunately, this is really nothing more than a glorified Hallmark movie. At least they tried, I guess.
Strong 1.5/5
This is an incredibly self-serious film, which isn't a problem in of itself should it have contained the level of substance and drama to match that tone. Instead, Disobedience repeatedly offers up melodrama and clichés more befitting of a Lifetime movie, right down to a scene where one of the leads frantically chases after the other as she departs in a taxi. There's nothing inherently wrong with melodrama, but the problem is that the film has no self-awareness. These stiff, wooden, cheesy moments are presented as if this were an Oscar-worthy feature without any of the necessary depth or nuance in the screenplay to be on such a level.
Though Weisz and McAdams are talented actors who give the material their best effort, it's for naught as their roles are severely lacking in basic characterization - you can boil them down to "the defiant, rebellious one" and "the timid, repressed one" and you've basically got it covered. And there's barely any thematic exploration beyond the very surface-level notions of repression being negative, acceptance being positive, and the basic clash between fundamentalism and the modern era. The film drags on with very little in the way of plot or intrigue once the premise has been set up, and the overly serious tone becomes more and more suffocating as it plods along. It has a somewhat grating score as well that does not fit the material very well - lush. alternately melancholic and hopeful orchestration that reaches for a grandeur that the movie itself just doesn't justify.
I'm sad to have had such a negative reaction as I really would've loved to see a great film about this subject. Unfortunately, this is really nothing more than a glorified Hallmark movie. At least they tried, I guess.
Strong 1.5/5