Puzzle

Kelly Macdonald is terrific as Agnes, a mother of two and wife to Louie (an also excellent David Denman). Agnes is loved by her family, but they tend to not pay attention to her at times, and she’s beginning to lose interest in their mundane routines. She finds solace in jigsaw puzzles, and realizes she has a talent for putting them together fast. She sees a posting for a person looking to find a “puzzle partner,” gives them a call, and strikes up a friendship with Robert (Irrfan Khan) an eccentric millionaire with a shared fascination for puzzles. As the two meet twice a week to train for a puzzle competition, things go beyond friendship, and Agnes is forced to make some decisions about her home life. Marc Turtletaub’s minimalist direction works like a charm for this story, which plays a lot better than it sounds. Macdonald is first rate every second she’s on screen in this one, but especially in her scenes with Denman and Khan. Khan brings a lot of dimension to Robert, basically a nutty, lonely guy. Denman does a remarkable job of making Louie likeable, even if he is a bit of a dick at times. It’s not a film I was especially anxious to watch given its premise. I was pleasantly surprised.