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| Mark Duplass and Natalie Morales in "Language Lessons" Photo Credit: RottenTomatoes.com |
With everyone having to keep in touch over Zoom, FaceTime, and other video-conferencing programs throughout the last year and half, one of the last things that moviegoers might want is a film whose story unfolds via web chatting. However, if you can get passed that notion, there’s a comedic and poignant movie to experience with director Natalie Morales’ “Language Lessons,” which unfolds over a series of video talks. In a memorable filmmaking accomplishment, Morales offers a beautiful and grounded view of two people forming an unexpected, long-distance bond.
As a gift from his boyfriend, Will (Desean Terry), Adam (Mark Duplass) begins taking Spanish lessons from Cariño (Morales), a teacher who lives in Costa Rica. As their sessions go on, Will and Cariño will get to know the details of each other’s lives and reach an emotional intimacy that neither one of them could have anticipated.
Duplass offers an emotional performance of someone who experiences a life-changing event and must do what he can to move forward. He’s able to express how much the grief is weighing on him in such a way that shows how numb he feels, as if he doesn’t know what to do next. Duplass brings us through Will’s transition from feeling beaten down to learning how to accept his situation, and we go on a tender journey with him that has you understand what he’s going through.
Morales provides work that’s just as impactful as Duplass, portraying a character who’s compassionate and sympathetic towards what Will is facing. Her character’s dedication to helping and educating Will helps build a warmheartedness in the film that has you experience the relief that Will feels in having someone to talk to in a time of need. As we learn more about Morales’ character, we see that she’s experiencing as much personal hardship as Will, and the way in which Morales shows that her character is withholding certain details about her current life absorbs you in Cariño’s arc.
The chemistry between Duplass and Morales shines throughout the movie. Right from their first interaction, you can tell that this is going to be something special. The work that they accomplish together offers a relationship that’s as humorous as it is heartfelt, and the way in which they go from the easygoing interactions to the emotionally tense ones showcases their talents for transitioning between scenes of wit and scenes of drama.
The screenplay by Morales and Duplass uses its web-chat format to tell a deep story between two individuals who learn much about each other as time goes on, overcoming the long distance to cement an understanding of the issues that the other faces. The events that take place later on have the narrative go into details about just how different Will and Cariño’s situations are, which adds a whole new layer of complexity to their relationship that takes this film in a direction that I wasn’t expecting.
Given how the movie comes most alive when Will and Cariño are speaking with each other, it drags a little bit during one stretch of the film, where Will stops his lessons and the two characters send video messages to each other. But, once they start talking again, the spark between them brightens again at its fullest.
As a director, Morales is able to handle the tonal changes in such a way that shows the naturalness you’ll find in life when we can go from days that are fun to days that are challenging. There isn’t any moment where the web-chat format feels like a gimmick, but rather highlights the possibilities of instant communication when it comes to Will and Cariño using this as their transcontinental connection. However, Morales also shows the limits, such as in one effective scene where Will and Cariño are talking, but Will doesn’t have any visual of her, just audio. Here, we have to rely on the intonations of Cariño’s voice and the meanings of her silences in order to comprehend the deeper significance of her side of the discussion.
“Language Lessons” is a testament to the value of communication, and there isn’t a doubt that this movie will speak to you.
Grade: A-
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