Caroline MaddenMarc Turtletaub’s Puzzle is much like the game itself — quiet, and engrossing. Kelly Macdonald has long been one of our finest yet underrated actresses, always bringing an acute sensitivity to her roles, and she is pitch perfect as Agnes, a mousy, demure Christian housewife with a velvety voice and dowdy clothes. Her humdrum life revolves around working tirelessly for her old-school husband and two sons and attending parish functions with snooty churchgoers. The only light in her lackluster existence comes from doing jigsaw puzzles because she is a secret math whiz. Irrfan Khan exudes alluring magnetism as Robert, a puzzle champion from New York City she enters a competition with. Their relationship sparks a fire inside Agnes to have the adventures she never had. While the film’s premise seems overdone or overly cutesy, Turtletaub endows Puzzle with a gracefulness and sensitivity and keeps the love triangle that follows from devolving into clichés. The film’s real pull is Macdonald’s moving performance: how she gently traces Agnes’ metamorphosis into independence as her relationship with Robert develops and conveys Agnes’ internal wrestle between her caring nature and burgeoning desire for something new. Puzzle is a lovely gem of a film and captivating story about womanhood.
Caroline Madden Says Don’t Forget: Puzzle
