If you’ve ever wondered exactly how to make a story about a couples’ low-key marriage woes actually watchable – if for no other reason than to sell that secret to the ABC to spice up their “quality dramas” – By the Sea has it sorted. Just make sure the couple is insanely good-looking.
It’s the early ’70s or thereabouts, and a married couple – played by real-life married couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, who also directs – are staying (“holidaying” isn’t exactly the right word) at a Mediterranean resort. Roland’s a writer who can’t write and spends most of his days drinking; Vanessa’s an actress haunted by some unspecified event who spends most of her days staring off into space. But when a sexy young couple takes the room next door, a hole in the wall suddenly becomes the hottest entertainment option around.
The pacing is glacial and the story doesn’t exactly build, but there’s a real sense of two characters with a past trying to figure out if they have a future. Jolie’s made real strides as a director since Unbroken, giving this a real sense of languid despondency. Plus she takes full advantage of her attractive cast with a lot of close-ups that, if nothing else, are a lot more interesting to look at than the scenery.