From many comments about this film and the similar Closer, one would think all the characters were reckless libertine hedonists. They're not, they're unsuccessful serial monogamists like most of us in the modern western world. This one doesn't have the Oscar Wilde/Noel Coward wit or shocking vulgarity of Closer, but it does have amazing true-to-life performances, especially from Petra Wright (who has an aristocratic beauty similar to Mimi Rogers in Someone to Watch Over Me), Kathleen Robertson, who previously had a field day as an innocent bigamist in Gregg Araki's Splendor, Maya Strange (not Strange), who displays a vulnerability much like Natasha Gregson Wagner in some other independent films (what happened to her?). And of course Mark Ruffalo, an undecided everyman for our times, like the dog in Aesop who loses his bone because he thinks he sees a better one. And as someone remarked, this is definitely Eric Rohmer territory. Excellent writing, cinematography, and use of music, and not one redundant line or wasted shot.
Review of XX/XY
