Matt and Mara (2024)


director: Kazik Radwanski
release-year: 2024
genres: arthouse
countries: Canada
languages: English

Two hours of obnoxious theater kids talking to each other in thick millenial accents, but somehow not as bad as it sounds. Like if Napoleon Dynamite was about over-educated 30-something English lit majors from Toronto.

Matt & Mara laugh at things and stuff

Mara is married to a nice guy who she doesn't care about, and has a small child who she doesn't care about, and spends her days elusively critiquing poems written by teenagers.

He seems worth caring about

She cares very much about Matt, some old classmate who comes to town to take care of his dying dad and talk obnoxiously about literature. Matt also cares very much about her, in as much as an insufferable narcissist can care about someone else.

He does not seem worth caring about

They have an emotional affair, Matt is a self-centered asshole about it, his dad dies, and he disappears. Mara dejectedly returns to the family she doesn't care about. Nobody experiences any growth or gains any wisdom.

Neither they nor we.