Review: Between the Temples

2 January, 2025 William Eguizabal 0 Comments 2 categories

Title: Between the Temples
MPA Rating: R
Director: Nathan Silver
Starring: Jason Schwartzman, Carol Kane, Madeline Weinstein
Runtime: 1 hr 15 mins

What It Is: Ben (Schwartzman) is a cantor at his temple, but he’s also a man grappling with a crisis of faith. That crisis takes a backseat when he unexpectedly reconnects with Carla, his former grade school teacher. Now an adult, Carla has returned to his life as a new student eager to prepare for her bat mitzvah.

What Ben didn’t anticipate was how much Carla’s presence would impact him during this turbulent time. Through her, he begins to see the things he’s been missing—and perhaps, the path to finding himself again.

What We Think: I found this entire endeavor rather boring. Schwartzman usually brings a quirky charm to his roles, but here it feels forced and unnatural. There’s something oddly irritating about his character.

On the other hand, Carol Kane shines with her signature aloof charm—maybe it’s her voice, I’m not sure. Either way, she’s an absolute beacon in this film and really helps soften the edges of Schwartzman’s performance, which is disappointing because I normally enjoy his work.

Unfortunately, this misses the mark in terms of being interesting. A lot of that, I think, comes down to the script, which feels stale, and the visual choices, which make the film look like a dated mumblecore project from a decade ago.

Our Grade: C+, Very run of the mill and lacking excitement the whole thing just sort of is. The worst sin a film can commit is being boring. This is kind of boring and the characters aren’t likable enough to make up for the lack of tension throughout. I think there’s definitely an audience for this. I am also of the belief that I’m not that audience quite frankly. It’s a skip for me but maybe you’ll dig it.