I know what you’re thinking. “A film about marriage counseling? Oh boy! What did we do to deserve such a treat?” I know, I know. Just calm down. We’ll get to the excitement in due time.
Yeah, You probably aren’t jumping to see a movie about a couple struggling with couplehood. Just give it a chance; we get sci-freaky before this thing gets rollin’. Ethan (Mark Duplass) and Sophie (Elisabeth Moss) are not enjoying marriage. He cheated on her. She hasn’t been intimate, etc., etc. Counselor Ted Danson sends them on retreat. Yeah, yeah, big whoop. Believe me, I was exactly where you are now.
The retreat is a vacation house on an acre of land with a pool and a guest house. Upon arrival, Ethan and Sophie are far more interested in exploring the grounds than their marriage. Both are tired early, but in the guest house, suddenly Ethan seems far more agreeable than he once was. It’s hard to put a finger on the change – no glasses? Tussled hair? General agreeability? Who knows? But Sophie likes it and the two celebrate horizontally. In the afterglow, Sophie retreats to the main house where eyeglassed Ethan has been sleeping… for hours. Whoa.
The misunderstanding is thankfully brief as Ethan, too, discovers a far more agreeable version of his wife in the guest house. Where’d did Ethan2 go? Who knows? Can more than one Ethan and one Sophie be in the guest house at the same time? Doesn’t look like it. Can the alternative Ethan/Sophie leave the guest house? Doesn’t look like it.
Once acceptance has set in, there are new parameters. Sophie likes Ethan2; 
Ethan likes Sophie2. Well this is quite the pickle, huh? Both originals scheme for what they want out of the paradox (while being sensitive to their “real” partners, of course). In subtle/hilarious/predictable fashion, Sophie uses Ethan2 to explain his infidelity while Ethan uses Sophie2 for sex. Oh, men.
Neither Mark Duplass nor Elizabeth Moss has ever been better than in these dual roles, which is nice because it’s very likely neither will ever have a role quite this meaty again. There’s some great acting involved in the discovery that Ethan and Sophie are … not pleased with their respective doubles. There’s even better acting in the realization that both are far more concerned with “How?” than “Why?” The latter question? Almost always more important than the former.
Now let me give you my impression of every pitch meeting the Duplass brothers have:
Studio: Ah, Jay & Mark Duplass, what can I do for you?
Duplassity: We want to make another movie
Studio: That’s great! I love your movies; they’re thoughtful, and short.
Duplassity: Not this one. Think Inception. It’s going to be a star-studded puzzling 150 minutes of CGI and lasers and deception. We’re gonna focus, as we always do, with a set of people in personal crisis, and then expand it to international and alien espionage until we break the time/space paradox.
Studio: Sounds wonderful, how much do you need?
Duplassity: About $250 Mil
Studio: You can have $250 k
Duplassity: Um … ok. Great. I suppose we can work with that. Just have to skip the space station part … And the explosions … Hmmm … No name cast, too … Probably be about an hour shorter, of course … Probably have to rent a place again … No CGI … No gadgets … but we’ve still got the personal crisis, and maybe some Grade B intrigue. Terrific! Let’s go.
Studio: See you in six months, boys.
This scenario is exactly what I think happened with The One I Love. I’m quite sure the Duplass brothers imagined an alien world of doppelgängers and mischief but had to settle for somebody’s personal vacation retreat with a guest house. Believe me, it works better this way; a film like Safety Not Guaranteed needs CGI to promote the illusion. The One I Love, however, is all inside your head; it needs little more than the audience being slightly ahead of the players.
A couple has gone on retreat
For a marriage they hope to reheat
Identical twins
Inspire new sins
And a host of lather.rinse.repeat
Rated R, 91 Minutes
D: Charlie McDowell
W: Justin Lader
Genre: Marriage counseling. i.e. Horror
Type of person most likely to enjoy this film: Anybody who has dreamed of another partner
Type of person least likely to enjoy this film: Anybody who hasn’t
