Using grief for comedic purposes requires a deft touch. While director Nathan Silver, who cowrote the script with C. Mason Wells, is more than up to the task in dramedy Between the Temples, the natural chemistry between his two lead actors is what allows this unconventional story to reach such lofty heights. A burgeoning friendship develops into something bordering a platonic May-December romance in a film that would hit too hard on its shared themes with classic indies The Graduate and Harold and Maude if not for uniquely thoughtful and nimble performances from Jason Schwartzman and Carol Kane.
Fortysomething widower Ben Gottlieb (Schwartzman) is still consumed by grief following the accidental death of his wife, an acclaimed novelist, a year earlier. Ben works as a cantor at a local synagogue, and he not only seems to be experiencing a spiritual and existential crisis, but is also plagued by a physical ailment in his throat which prevents him from singing, a significant problem considering that singing prayers at temple is pretty much his entire job description.
Even after a “very long sabbatical,” he hasn’t been fired because he’s chummy with Rabbi Bruce (Robert Smigel) and because it is “not a small consideration” that his two mothers, bio mom Meira (Caroline Aaron) and stepmom Judith (Dolly de Leon), are significant donors. His moms are both desperate to shake Ben out of his funk, with Judith particularly interested in doing so by setting him up with women (when Judith says they’d like Ben to “see a doctor,” she means romantically not professionally). Even Rabbi Bruce openly encourages Ben to hook up with his visiting daughter.
Though two decades older, Ben is as aimless as The Graduate’s Benjamin Braddock (the same name feels very intentional) and similarly finds himself surrounded by elders who oppressively influence his life decisions. Shot by DP Sean Price Williams on grainy, often handheld 16mm, the camera is kept invasively close to its subjects throughout the film, to the point that entire faces don’t always fit into frame. This is especially true in the awkward social gatherings that occur throughout the film, much like the graduation party in the The Graduate’s opening scene.
When a drunken barroom scuffle leaves Ben laid out on the floor with a swelling shiner, his figurative rock bottom, Ben is helped up and tended to by Carla (Kane), who turns out to be his old music teacher. When she shows up unexpectedly (and quite late) to a bar/bat mitzvah class Ben teaches at the synagogue, Ben’s life gradually begins to develop renewed meaning. At first, Carla, a longtime widow herself, serves as a disruptor to his life, her insistence that he accept her as a student, something he resists, coming off as somewhat aggressive. But as the two begin to connect on a deeper level, something vital is rekindled within Ben.
While various customs of Judaism are a core motif, the film ultimately highlights the power of human connection to transcend convention and orthodoxy. Ben is initially horrified when he realizes the delicious burger he’s just consumed on Carla’s recommendation isn’t kosher because there’s cheese mixed into the beef patty, but the second time the mix-up happens later in the film he’s content to finish his meal, just happy to be in Carla’s company. In fact, while tradition remains respected throughout the film, and integral to characters finding common ground, it’s those who adhere most strictly to doctrine that seem to be least content. Though only having converted to Judaism as an adult, Manila-born Judith is both the most devout and the most uptight character here. The laidback Rabbi Bruce, in contrast, casually putts golf balls into the open end of a shofar, a ritualistic ram’s horn instrument, and is easily convinced by an enthusiastic Ben to accelerate Carla’s bat mitzvah training from the customary 13 months to a mere three weeks.
Naturally, Ben and Carla’s companionship hits a few snags along the way. Her son, Nat (Matthew Shear), an arrogantly atheist psychiatrist, disapproves not only of a man his own age spending so much time with his mother but also of Carla’s desire for a bat mitzvah. Meanwhile, both Rabbi Bruce and Judith are pushing hard to match Ben with Bruce’s daughter Gabby, who is adrift herself after recently losing all the deposits on a scheduled wedding that fell through. Like others in Ben’s life, Gabby’s intentions are also desperately obvious: she goes so far as to emulate Ben’s dead wife while reading particularly lascivious passages from the deceased woman’s book.
Ben finds transcendence in Carla, who’s free-spirited but far more grounded than Ruth Gordon’s recklessly carefree Maude in the Hal Ashby classic Harold and Maude. Schwartzman and Kane are each also credited as executive producers, and their devotion to this project is evident throughout their performances. Between the Temples brims with heart without being sentimental, and it’s steeped in witty comedy that’s often subtle and even a little subversive. All this while showcasing the considerable and nuanced talents of two offbeat and well-matched performers at the top of their game.
Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics
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