Jason Schwartzman (Rushmore and other Wes Anderson films) is an actor I like to follow because of how he can portray many different characters in a very talented way. In director/writer Nathan Silver’s Between the Temples, Schwartzman portrays Ben Gottlieb, a grieving cantor who works at a synagogue in upstate New York where Rabbi Bruce (Robert Smigel) leads the congregation. Rabbi Bruce leads them in song as well because Ben has seemed to have lost his singing voice after losing his wife in an accident. Schwartzman is the perfect talent to portray a man who has lost his way after the tragedy. He does not seem to be ready to move on, no matter who the matchmakers are, until he meets a much older widow, Carla Kessler (Carol Kane, “Taxi” television series) in an unexpected place. What a treat!
Ben has moved back in with his mother Meira (Caroline Aaron) and her wife Judith (Dolly de Leon, Triangle of Sadness). Yes, they are a pair of matchmakers, Judith more than Meira, but Ben resists. One very early comedic moment comes when they introduce him to a young woman doctor. He is clueless that this might be a potential date. Confusing her for another person, he is disappointed that the mothers are recommending he have work done on his face. Co – writers Silver and C. Mason Wells (Thirst Street) continue this level of comedy that I will work hard to refrain from spoiling the story.
As I understand details about the film, there is improvisation, so the actors have some freedom with the comedic dialogue. In some ways, this shows more than others. Schwartzman and Kane are two talented comedians who elevate this story of a younger widower and an elder widow who meet unexpectedly and the change in their lives. She helps him through a very difficult evening he is having. It is not until after she begins to attend the temple and have other visits with him that they realize she was his music teacher in elementary school. She certainly remembers he had a singing voice.
This script by Silver (The Great Pretender) and C. Mason Wells shows us how they both are helping each other find their way to move forward in their lives after grief. Who knows what they want or need? It is certainly not the ones who are matchmakers. Ben and Carla become too determined to get what they want out of life, (she a bat mitzvah denied to her early in life) and he, well he seems to have found his happiness and voice.
These filmmakers sure like to use food, family gatherings around food, whether in home or dining out. Carla’s son and his family are skeptical as is noted in the restaurant scene. Another time, Carla introduces Ben to her favorite hamburger place, and at first, it was not pleasant for Ben. When the rabbi and his family are invited to dinner over at his two – Mom’s house, well that was somewhat of a surprise. The rabbi invited his adult daughter, Gabby (Madeline Weinstein, who Ben had met a time or two before the dinner) and Ben invited Carla.
Between the Temples was shot by cinematographer Sean Price Williams (The Sweet East). Between the Temples is rated R by the Motion Picture Association for language and some sexual references. Running time: 111 minutes.
Source: Sony Pictures Classics
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