Reminiscent of Lawrence Kasdan's The Big Chill, Clea Duvall's directorial debut, The Intervention is witty, assured ensemble comedy/drama centered around a group of thirty-something couples reuniting at a beautiful lakefront vacation home in Savannah, Georgia. The rendezvous isn't completely for the sake of relaxation and reconnection, as there is a hidden agenda, with members of the group, led by the strong personalitied Annie, staging an intervention for Ruby and Peter, a couple who seem to be caught in a cycle of constant angst and hostility, where contradiction is merely an open way of communication between them. Intent on intervening into Ruby and Peter's damaged marriage, the group finds their idyllic vacation threatened when Ruby and Peter learn of this deception, sparking revelations about each of these characters as tensions run high, and long suppressed emotions and feelings are finally aloud to bubble to the surface. While far from original in its deconstruction of hidden feelings and underlying tension, Clea DuVall's The Intervention is a charming, well-written dramedy which relies heavily on the charm and comedic timing of its actors to deliver its witty, reflective comedy about the complicated mess that is the human psyche. The film is centered around this marriage intervention but as the narrative unfolds it becomes clear that all of these characters are dealing with their own internal struggles, with each character deflecting from their own relationship problems by focusing on the failing marriage of Ruby and Peter. in this regard, dysfunction is a major component of The Intervention's humor, being a film that manages to find the humor in what it typically reserved for more serious genre fair, as the film laughs at the utter stupidity that can arise due to lack of communication and insecurity. For the most part, the tone remains light throughout The Intervention but the film still manages to pack a surprisingly amount of poignancy in the end, as the viewer finds themselves caring for the well being of these characters and the outcome of their relationships. The care-free, comedic first act of the film, featuring a healthy amount of humor and charm, is a very important aspect of the film's overall dramatic success, with the Intervention's sharp-wit making these characters engaging right from the beginning, helping establish empathy for these characters by the viewer early on, something which pays off when the more drama-based second half takes hold. The Intervention is a film about the importance of communication and the messiness of human emotion, almost suggesting that individuals tend to help others because it's much easier than focusing on ones own shortcomings. From Annie, the overbearing character who deflects her own commitment issues via the bottle, to Jessie, a character who has long struggled with her own commitment issues with her current girlfriend, The Intervention slowly reveals how all of these characters have their own relationship problems, each of which seems to be using deflection as a way to escape from facing their own problems. The Intervention suggests that companionship and support are important social concepts but in the end it's only the individual who can make changes for themselves, with Ruby and Peter's deeply flawed marriage only going in the right direction due to Peter, and Ruby to a lesser degree, realizing their own shortcomings, as they have both fallen into a vicious cycle of resentment. Both Rudy and Peter have reached a stagnant complacency, one in which they excepted their misery and took for granted the shared relationship which they shared, a realization that only comes to fruition when the real possibility of a divorce feels imminent. Relationships are hard, communication is essential, and you don't know what you have got until it's gone, are just a few of the more interesting conversation pieces of Clear DuVall's The Intervention, a film that manages to be one of the funnier films of the year as it deconstructs some of the more universal truths about relationships and shared humanity.
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June 2023
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