Sophie (Elizabeth Moss) and Ethan (Mark Duplass) are a couple whose marriage is in serious crisis. Immediately in the opening scene, we learn that they regularly visit a marriage counselor (Ted Danson), who will suggest that they try to rekindle their old flame with a romantic weekend in nature. The counselor will even suggest a location for them, and very soon when they arrive at that beautiful secluded villa, they seem to start connecting again, until we realize that they have actually arrived in some bizarre world and that they live in the same villa with them. their doubles. And director Charlie McDowell managed to film an unusual and interesting combination of comedy, thriller, romance and science fiction based on Justin Lader’s script, and “The One I Love” premiered at Sundance.
Although we practically only have two characters, or four if we count Moss and Duplass playing the counterparts of Sophie and Ethan, it worked out very well. Almost on the trail of the legendary “Twilight Zone”, a parallel universe will open up here too, or so it seems, and over time we will not only find out the reason why their marriage is in serious crisis, but Sophie will also begin to understand that she likes this new Ethan a lot more. He will seem like a much better version of himself, the way she would like him to be, and the author duo has prepared numerous surprises and twists so that we will understand by the end that nothing is as it seems at first.
From beginning to end, everything here seems absurdist, surreal, twisted, but most importantly, it is extremely fun and even humorous. Watching “The One I Love” I also remembered the cult Spanish black and dark SF thriller “Timecrimes” by Nacho Vigalondo, in which the main character also fell into some bizarre time loop and his doubles will constantly appear. Well, the story is significantly different here, and one of the strongest assets of this film is not only the photography, but also the way it was shot. From the beginning, it was filmed from an unusual perspective, bizarre, somewhat creepy, almost on the trail of horror films that usually take place in a similar environment, so even before we understand what is happening there, we have the impression that someone is constantly watching and stalking them.