Directed By Michael Angelo Covino

Starring – Dakota Johnson, Adria Arjona, Kyle Marvin

The Plot – When Ashley (Arjona) asks for a divorce, the good-natured Carey (Marvin) runs to his friends, Julie (Johnson) and Paul (Michael Angelo Covino), for support. Their secret to happiness is an open marriage; that is, until Carey crosses the line and throws all of their relationships into chaos.

Rated R for adult language throughout, sexual content and graphic nudity

SPLITSVILLE – Official Redband Trailer – In Select Theaters 8.22, Everywhere 9.5

POSITIVES

Six years after bursting onto the cinematic scene with “The Climb”, a film that examined hilarious ironies to life’s most tender moments, Covino and Marvin reunite for their most ambitious project to date, and there’s plenty of evidence in the intoxicating execution of this romantic comedy (Of sorts) to convey that the time off was spent perfecting the uniqueness in their distinct brand of humor and storytelling. For starters, the comedy is even more effectively refined than that of the duo’s aforementioned predecessor, this time while illustrating the modernistic approaches and hypocritical inconsistencies of polyamorous marriages, all executed with an absurdist enveloping towards mastering not only impeccable comedic timing for the dazzling ensemble, but also some of the year’s most long-winded hilarity during unforeseen conflicts and truly unpredictable directions that keep the material fresh from feeling telegraphed or choreographed. With thematic impulses pertaining to male immaturity and insecurities, as well as refreshingly endearing dedication towards female agency, the script masters thorough and thought-provoking insight to the designs of as many as four characters simultaneously, all the while taking ample time and patience to let the pay-offs of so many strange and uncomfortable situations materialize naturally in the air of such devastating conflicts, in turn materializing a dramatic depth in underlining that works surprisingly well with Covino and Marvin’s emasculating wit, appraising an abundance of stakes and circumstances to nearly satirical spins that kept me faithfully invested throughout the duration of the film’s 99-minute runtime. As to where Ashley and Julie would come across as one-note renderings in a weaker helmed movie, here they are arguably the primary ingredient that is driving the structural outline of the engagement, and considering they are acting opposite of the two men in charge of the entire production, it’s great to see the level of confidence and cadence that they supplant to their two female co-stars, fleshing out their desires and virtues in ways that make the both of them feel like so much more than just pretty faces. In addition to the writing, the film is also once again exceptionally directed from Covino, himself, who while not settling for the same long-winded takes that made “The Climb” such a technical marvel in storytelling, does utilize the cinematography to convey immersive insight into the diversity of wealth that internally divide its characters mentalities. When the film resonates from within Paul and Julie’s exotic mansion, the shots are wide and full of distancing on the characters, in order to convey the dividing chemistry from within, but when the story deviates to Carey and Ashley’s cozy bungalow, much more of the shots feel claustrophobically tight and intentionally compromising within the clarity and coherence of what’s transpiring, and it assembles unavoidable clarity within the context of these two couples, whom aren’t able to come to the terms of their own bleak realities throughout situations that have come to define them. In addition, Covino’s sequences of intimacy are sexy and full of palpable desire that doesn’t isolate polyamory as feeling uncomfortable awkward or shameful, like most predecessors pertaining to the subject matter, resulting instead in these pocketed integral chemistries within the movie’s many respectively unique dynamics that builds at least two ongoing foundations at all times within the dimensions of the narrative, proving Covino to be every bit a psychological pursuer in the minds of his characters, as he is a methodical marksman in the orchestration of his environmental sequencing. Speaking of environmental, the film unexpectedly features the single best action fight sequence that I have seen this year, with two characters smashing through one of the previously mentioned settings in ways that not only feel believably gripping with the energy and brutal level of physicality that goes into such a sequence, but also the unbelievable amount of trust and dedication that Covino and Marvin have for each other and their production. It gets as close to authenticity as any movie could capably conjure, and while it’s merely a small section of the bigger picture, at the beginning of the second act, it’s easily among the most impressive scenes or sequences executed brilliantly throughout the film, halting the progress of everything and everyone surrounding them in ways that frequently pick back up, after each time you think it’s going to finally resolve itself. I also want to give a lot of appreciation and credit to the four main actors within this ensemble, who each turn in meaningful performances towards appraised characters who are ripe with personality and versatility in their respective designs. Just like in their previous film, Covino and Marvin portray best friends who have an aggressively competitive streak between them, and just as the case with that predecessor, their natural rapport takes them miles towards making such extreme reactions believable, with a comfortability towards the vulnerable angles of their characters brandishing a raw honesty out of Marvin, and a tight jealousy out of Covino that feels like it could burst at any moment. As for the ladies, Dakota Johnson fits seamlessly into the duo’s distinguished personality, with her side-eyed sarcasm working terrifically against Marvin’s absurdist situational humor, while Adria Arjona continues her momentous two year run with an intuitively complex turn that could easily feel like the antagonist in another uninspiring romantic comedy, but here earnestly represents the confused crossroads of Ashley’s desires with the kind of humbling humility that burns on humanity, all with an equally endearing element of charisma that holds her own against this stacked ensemble.

NEGATIVES

Very little about “Splitsville” didn’t work for me, but there is a common thread in hinderance between this and “The Climb” that feels tediously sacrificial to Marvin’s brand of storytelling, particularly chapter divides of the movie’s structure, which doesn’t feel necessary to the particular story being told here. While I understood its intention during Covino and Marvin’s predecessor, in that it sifted through the highs and lows of life, here it just conjures glaring distraction to some underdeveloped aspects of the script that we’re just kind of forced to go along with, despite these sudden developments that undercut some of the film’s most emotionally layered moments. Considering the film takes us over the course of what feels like a couple of years in the lives of these two couples, it becomes a tough task to maintain the ins and outs of what has transpired off-screen, forcing me to ask questions about characters throughout times when investment is required to remain focused in the narrative, and while I have always appreciated that Covino and Marvin don’t waste much time on dialogue-heavy exposition to clue us into insight about what has transpired, here a little more would’ve been appreciated in piecing together what I didn’t get to experience off-screen, especially considering some sudden changes during the third act that felt like an arduous chore to overcome, in order to remain at eye level with the storytelling. In addition to this, my only other problem with the film comes with the unavoidable consequences of its character designs failing to elicit any kind of emotional stakes in the audience investing towards these people, particularly those with children who still make the selfish brand of decisions that doesn’t pit them first in any of what eventually transpires. I can certainly understand that this is a movie about comfort and stability, rather than sex, but I don’t feel like the movie captured the outsiders perspective quite as much as it did those involved, and it represents the single most crucial misstep from Marvin’s writing that could’ve in turn elicited more comedic charms on the proceedings, particularly in explaining to said youth why men are constantly moving in and out of our home, with little to no consequential impact in tow.

OVERALL
“Splitsville” is an unpredictably absurdist alternative to interchangeable romantic comedies of the contemporary age, enacting a hilarious long-distance ride of toxic masculinity, manipulation, and miscommunication that never withers on the entertainment value it appraises to such an unconventional engagement. With charismatic performances aplenty, as well as a comfortable cadence on depicting the taboos of the subject matter, Covino and Marvin have once again tapped into a tenderness for life that feels every bit authentically honest as it does ridiculously exaggerated, finding truth and virtue somewhere in the middle behind these two pillars of their decorated filmmaking that audiences have waited six years to experience again.

My Grade: 8.8 or A-