The Killing of Two Lovers begins with an opening scene that immediately depicts the lethal promise of the title. A man stands in the bedroom of two sleeping lovers, a gun pointed at their faces. He’s clearly tormented as he contemplates pulling the trigger, swapping his aim between each lover tentatively. We hear the sounds of the bathroom outside in the hallway, and he immediately shifts into nervousness, fear and shame. He leaves out the window and runs to a house not too far away, where we learn his name is David and he lives with his ailing father.
David, played with convincing vigor by Clayne Crawford, is in the midst of a separation with his wife, Nikki (Sepideh Moafi), and it’s easy to piece those opening moments together as we learn more information in subsequent scenes. It’s not clear how long they’ve been separated, and there doesn’t seem to be much animosity between them in their initial interactions. In fact, they seem quite cordial, even exchanging some affectionate words in their first interaction together. It’s clear they’re still trying to work things out, even if Nikki has begun acting on their agreement that they can see other people.
But the terrifyingly simple reveal of the film’s inception informs everything that follows, both in character motivations and relations, and it’d be fascinating to see how the film would work if it were to erase this scene and simply drop us into this breakup situation without revealing one half’s violent intent right off the bat. As such, we spent much of the film following David as he grapples with his deliberations, often in pure silence that’s punctuated by an aggressive yet limited industrial score of sharp single notes and soundscapes resembling the loading of a gun’s chamber. We also witness him in the company of others—of Nikki, of his four children and of Derek (Chris Coy), the man currently sleeping with his wife.
The result is some of the most compelling drama witnessed in some time. At just 84 minutes, the film gives you exactly enough to paint a picture, but may certainly leave you wanting to know more about the family it depicts. The Killing of Two Lovers, which was written, directed, produced and edited by Robert Machoian, expertly weaves between its protagonist’s tortured considerations, his tender moments with his children and his vulnerability with Nikki, illustrating layer upon layer of insight into the lives of a small-town Utah family living on the brink of collapse. Heart-wrenching moments are complemented by the sprawling landscapes always present in the background, where it’s tough to tell whether emotions or mountains are the most dominant aspect in the frame.
It’s virtually impossible to look away. Shot in Academy ratio that boxes us into its lead’s inner turmoil and utilizing scenic compositions that demand us to pay attention to everything happening within the frame, The Killing of Two Lovers is impressively constructed in essentially every regard. It knows exactly when to pull out a closeup and when to keep its distance, and by its end you feel completely immersed in its storytelling. Scenes are simple and never showy, like an intimate conversation in a car between David and Nikki that concludes with the former feebly singing an a cappella version of a song he’s recently written, exclaiming “I’m a damn fool” over and over again in hopes it might help him reclaim what was lost. The camera holds steadily on his face, perhaps a tad too close for comfort, but this is a film that’s never focused on making its viewer feel at ease. In fact, it’s quite the opposite, and it’s brilliantly executed.
The final shot is a masterful juxtaposition with the film’s initial images, and as mentioned before, don’t be surprised if the cut to black has you yearning for additional information. But that’s all part of the film’s overall genius. It spends so much time in silence as we watch its subject’s eyes reflect the turning clockwork of a tortured, angry, compulsive man, and then it simply leaves us in that same silence to contemplate everything that was given.
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