Tanay Chaudhari "… If I am estranged from myself, I am likewise a stranger to others." - Brennan ManningWhile watching this female-centered chapter of the trilogy, one could find out in a short-while our protagonists might be going around in circles and not reaching a fair ground of conclusion. Eleanor(Jessica Chastain) and her estranged husband, Connor(James McAvoy), might still be in love but given their history of tragedy, she avoided meeting halfway or even less to make it work again about them. Not because that Eleanor was scared or abruptly commitment- phobic, but profoundly pained by her past of which he was an integral part, thus, she wanted to leave all of it back. At the same time, Conor tried hard only to give-up as well, and unwillingly accepting their estrangement. Around here, this 'drama-romance' seemed to be moving towards a 'tragedy'; however, around the conclusion the protagonists do meet- up and talk their hearts out, and amidst their sorrow, understand to move on and away. However, in the aftermath their future-association was left on the viewer's discretion.In the film, 'escapism' was delicately placed and utilised like a furbished backdrop to the plot, however, in a non-negative connotation; such as - Eleanor adored her nephew, and knew that it won't give her solace for long and definitely not suffice for her child. At the same time, we notice through her dialogues that her 'part-broken, part-recovering' viewpoints towards her environment and everyone around her, as she seemed so hopeless in shedding her pain, making her more isolated from any compassion. Similarly, she found mirrors too pinching and bothersome; though she ended up discovering one (more of her own 'reflection') in her anthropology professor (Viola Davis), who also "stayed hard" towards life, much like her. They talk about their short-comings and form a likely companionship, while jibing together at their likes and dislikes making it seem like a 'hermetically sealed, surreal experience' between them. They mostly never reached any solid conclusions, but they always found each other. It is a visual treat to watch Chastain and Davis deliver their scenes together, with characteristically mouthing same set of lines time-after-time. "The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Her" is way better delivered than the "Them" chapter in all aspects – especially in its writing (Ned Benson) and editing (Kristina Bonet, "Carlito's Way"). With the exceptions of supportive vignettes, the drama seems genuine on many aspects and also, tends to generate a fair deal of empathy towards the female-protagonist and also, some displeasure.Verdict – Watchable, mainly because of a near-perfect on-screen chemistry between James McAvoy and Jessica Chastain.Rating – 7/10

meeza "The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Her" appeared to be an engaging movie about a woman whose life is turned upside down after a family tragedy and a spousal separation. What actually appeared in Writer-Director Ned Benson's film was a wishy-washy take on a confused woman who seeks family shelter after personal problems. The originality of this movie disappeared throughout its showing time; oh wait, on second thought, there was no appearance to begin with. I found the movie dreadfully boring. However, there is something here that salvaged this movie; and that comes in the form of the steady Jessica Chastain with her marvel performance as the title character. Chastain is one of, if not the best, actress working today. She always disappears into her character, and that is proved once again with her work here as Eleanor Rigby. However, I do not have the same sentiments for the supporting performances of this movie; which included (believe it or not) Viola Davis, James McAvoy, and William Hurt. Back to Jessie: It is too bad Chastain had to wrestle with the film's mundane storyline & screenplay. Benson actually filmed three versions of "The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby";one from the "her" perspective (meaning Eleanor), one from the "him" perspective (being Rigby's estranged husband Conor), and one from the "them" perspective (which I guess is the rest of the Rigby party). I experienced the "her" one. But something tells me that him or them is not much better than her; which pretty much sums up human gender interaction; whatever that means. Time for me to disappear. Goodbye! *** Average

Thomas Drufke For me, I think the two films are two of the most realistic films I have ever seen. Chastain & McAvoy are brilliant and I'm glad we got to see both sides of the story. But I did tend to like "him" a little bit better. I will say that I think "Her" is better acted. When you have greats like Viola Davis and William Hurt as supporting actors that are essential to moving the story forward, you know you have something good on your hands. This side of the story is darker and more depressing as it more closely deals with unimaginable situation of losing someone very close to you.The most powerful thing that was said in either film was the idea that "You can change a person just by living". It's definitely true, there are people close to me that directly impact my life whether I see them or not. Just by living, they are changing my life. It's something I don't really think about, but I will now. Also the idea of memory is brought up a lot. Chastain's character, Eleanor, talks about the concept of only remembering things once or twice in your entire life, and then it's gone. It's pretty morbid if you ask me. After seeing this one second, I always thought about perception, and how the way events unfold and if I see things differently than people close to me. Even in the slightest bit, I think it's pretty evident we do.Overall, the films are worth watching if you like darker and more realistic types of love stories. I just don't think I ever want to watch these films again. They are just too depressing. But without question they are brilliantly acted and superbly shot. I'm glad I checked them out.+Chastain's range +Tackling different and difficult concepts +Beautiful to look at -Very dark 7.4/10

Red_Identity Saw this last night (I consider it one film, saw both parts back to back in that order). Such a lovely, touching film, and not at all what I expected when I first heard about the project. First off, I just want to say that I find the title really gimmicky and misleading. Okay, sure, it's technically not "wrong", but it just sounds like a lead-on for something it's not, such an easy way to grab audience's attention. The basic plot point that leads to the whole film has been done before (Rabbit Hole did it just a few years ago) and the whole film isn't trying to be anything other than an honest, captivating look at two characters' lives and the way they deal with this tragedy. For some reason I thought it was going to be this really daring film. I was wrong and I knew almost immediately, but I didn't mind. The script is fantastic, and the two leads superb. McAvoy actually impresses more in Her, and as a whole he's not really in Chastain's level, but he has some really strong scenes and as of now I'd have him in my Top 10 for Lead Actor (and he's in my top 3 for Filth, which is a better performance but an inferior film in every way). What can I say about Chastain? Her best performance alongside Zero Dark Thirty, and may very well be even better for the fact that she's able to play a much more rounded character in terms of emotions. What I've always found incredibly impressive about her as an actress is that, not only is she technically impeccable in all her work to a fault like so many other acclaimed actresses are, but she's also able to inhabit a character fully to the point that her technicality doesn't feel like we're watching her at a distance emotionally. That's a problem I have with some actresses working right now. They can be great, yeah, but can also hit notes technically well while feeling too much like it's all for show at times. I've never had that problem with Chastain. Her work here is among the best of the year and it's a shame that neither her or the fantastic film she's in are even getting mentions from critic bodies. If its because of the stupid "Them" decision, then what a shame... but it's most likely not, and that's an even bigger shame