I was a little hesitant about going to this one, even though I like and respect both the actress Michelle Williams and Sarah Polley, the writer/director. That’s because TAKE THIS WALTZ seems on the surface to be another indie movie of an all too familiar type, an earnest little drama about twenty and thirty somethings and the exigencies of their intimate relationships.

The sincerity of the genre doesn’t insure against its devolving into formula, and self-absorption is a perpetual danger. So despite having enjoyed several recent films of this ilk, I was, as I said, hesitant, and only went because the time was right and my original plans had fallen through. The upshot of which is that I thoroughly admired Polley’s film.

Though the formulaic elements were there, every one was twisted in some way, either because it was undercut, or emerged at an unexpected time, or was reversed a moment later, or seemed to be coming but never did. This is a smart movie, and a wise one, with sensitive acting that dares to be unglamorous. It has a sensibility that refuses the neat package, except as a passing thing, and certainly not when all is said and done.

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