Between the Temples Review
Between the Temples (2024) Film Review, a movie directed by Nathan Silver, written by C. Mason Wells and Nathan Silver and starring Jason Schwartzman, Carol Kane, Dolly De Leon, Caroline Aaron, Robert Smigel, Madeline Weinstein, Matthew Shear, Lindsay Burdge, Keith Poulson, Jason Grisell, Annie Hamilton, Jaden Waldman and Pauline Chalamet.
Filmmaker Nathan Silver’s offbeat comedy, Between the Temples, is the type of movie you will either love or just like. It’s hard to not care about the characters in it and its heart is in the right place. It’s a frustrating movie at times but an earnest one and co-writer/director Silver lends plenty of authenticity to the material at hand. Jason Schwartzman has been on a roll lately with this and the great Asteroid City and has recently become the accomplished actor that I believed he could become early on in his career when he did mostly supporting roles. Joining him in Between the Temples is the legendary Carol Kane as Carla Kessler, an older Bat Mitzvah student who Schwartzman’s character, Ben Gottlieb, forms a sincere bond with.
For the most part, the acting in the film is close to perfect and that’s its greatest strength. The plot and the zaniness of some of the interactions can border on annoying sometimes but the movie always feels like it’s trying to say something that we don’t hear too much in movies these days. That something is the power of the connection that can be formed by people from different generations. Silver’s movie nails a lot of the interactions on the head in this film although some of the characters in the movie probably wouldn’t get what he was trying to do if they were audience members.
Ben is a cantor who is going through the motions while seemingly yearning for his now deceased author wife. He visits a Catholic church and has an interesting conversation with a priest (Jason Grisell) but he’s lost. When meeting his old grade school music teacher (Kane’s Carla) at a bar one night after getting hit in the face by a jerk, he starts to see the sincerity of the also lost Carla who wants to do something she’s been missing out on in her life– have her Bat Mitzvah. Ben pursues helping Carla and the two start interacting regularly. They eat at a restaurant but he’s given a burger with cheese inside which isn’t kosher which makes for some hilarity. Carla has lost her significant other too and she and Ben find they have more in common than they may have originally thought.
Into the movie comes a younger love interest for Ben, Gabby (Madeline Weinstein), and she’s the perfect woman. She’s good-looking, agreeable and kind. She even understands the fact that Ben keeps over 700 voice mails from his dead wife saved on his phone. This is where the film gets frustrating. Maybe if Gabby was flawed more, we’d understand why Ben finds more solace in Carla’s company. Gabby does everything for Ben, including talking sexy like his dead wife, but Ben is more interested in the wiser and more experienced in life Carla.
This movie has an under-utilized supporting cast with performers like the amazing Dolly De Leon, Caroline Aaron, Robert Smigel and Matthew Shear. While it’s great to see De Leon working again, one wishes she was given more to do than act mad at Ben’s actions and try to sell real estate. Still, the actress is always intriguing and her work here is no exception. Smigel, as Rabbi Bruce, has the most developed role in the supporting players but his actions aren’t always plausible in terms of him giving into Ben’s requests a little too easily.
Schwartzman gives an emotional performance that is full of subtext. He and Kane light up the screen in their scenes together although the final resolution of the picture feels a bit underwhelming in the grand scheme of things. Kane reminds us of her wondrous film career with her eccentricity and very distinct voice and screen presence. It’s great to see her working again and this film is a testament to her successful career as a comic actress even though she’s serious for the most part during her scenes in this picture. The film balances comedy and drama well. Kane creates emotional substance in her performance as well as demonstrates some fine comic touches in the interim.
Madeline Weinstein is a bright up-and-comer and if the actress wasn’t so terrific, the movie may have worked just a tad bit better. By having Weinstein play her character as the quintessential perfect young woman and a good catch for Ben, Silver makes some valid points about why Ben ultimately prefers Carla. But, it would have been nice to see more chemistry and interaction between Ben and Gabby either way.
Between the Temples is an enjoyable rendering of how religious traditions don’t always blend with one’s own personal goals and emotions. It marks Carol Kane’s return to the world of acting and her performance here will be cherished for years to come. Schwartzman is equally stellar. Together, they make the film worth seeing.
Rating: 7.5/10
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