Omeleto | POLY | Omeleto @Omeleto | Uploaded August 2024 | Updated October 2024, 9 hours ago.
A married man wants a change.
POLY is used with permission from Max Novick. Learn more at imdb.com/title/tt29232594.
Doug is married to Claire, whom he adores. But Claire also has a boyfriend named Patrick whom she's passionate about. All three share the same home, where they co-exist without much surface drama in this arrangement.
But when Claire announces she's pregnant, Doug's comfort in the arrangement changes. He wants Patrick to leave the home and for him and Claire to parent the child like a "normal" family. But Claire may not be amenable to the change, putting their future in question at a crucial juncture.
Directed and written by Max Novack, this funny, unexpectedly poignant short romantic drama is about a husband and wife negotiating a big sea change in their relationship as they grapple with pregnancy and the future of their family. This is a normal precipice of transition for any couple, but when it's a couple-plus-boyfriend arrangement, the prospect of raising children together brings out Doug's deepest desires and wishes -- ones that he's been able to avoid being honest about for some time but now must come to light. When his wife reveals he is pregnant, Doug realizes how much he wants to be a father, in the same way he grew up.
The notion of a throuple is often played in media for its salaciousness or novelty, but what's striking about this narrative is how even-handed and well-executed its take on the romantic relationship drama is, and how respectfully it takes this trio's conflict seriously, even amid its flourishes of social comedy. Relationship dramas delineate and excavate the emotional terrain between people, often capturing the push and pull between partners as they negotiate a change or conflict. That's exactly what happens here, as Doug realizes his desire and communicates that with Claire. While the film has its touches of observant, wry humor and a gentle, naturalistic style, it builds up to this difficult, potentially marriage-altering conversation with high stakes for Doug, and the emotionally immersive writing and directing puts us in his shoes with intimacy and sympathy.
As Doug, actor Will Dagger's funny, vulnerable performance hits the comic notes of the script and works well off actor Paloma Garcia-Lee as Claire. But ultimately, Dagger's performance is quite moving, revealing unique layers as the story goes on. Part of the dramatic question is what will happen to this three's-a-crowd-now arrangement, but the most resonant arc is Doug learning to be honest, first with himself and then with his wife, who is genuinely committed to leading a different life from the mainstream. He must confront how his fear of losing love made him quiet, and the film's true dramatic question is whether or not his fear wins out, or if he will be true to what he wants.
Throughout the film, POLY cuts between the present action and footage of Doug as a father, a shuttling that makes the film's ending somewhat ambiguous. Are those images of Doug with a child a flash-forward, or imaginings of possible futures? We are not entirely sure, but we know that whatever Doug chooses, it's a hard, painful choice, and the film's gift is being empathetic in its nuanced portrayal of Doug's romantic life in all its complexities, as unconventional as it may be.
A married man wants a change.
POLY is used with permission from Max Novick. Learn more at imdb.com/title/tt29232594.
Doug is married to Claire, whom he adores. But Claire also has a boyfriend named Patrick whom she's passionate about. All three share the same home, where they co-exist without much surface drama in this arrangement.
But when Claire announces she's pregnant, Doug's comfort in the arrangement changes. He wants Patrick to leave the home and for him and Claire to parent the child like a "normal" family. But Claire may not be amenable to the change, putting their future in question at a crucial juncture.
Directed and written by Max Novack, this funny, unexpectedly poignant short romantic drama is about a husband and wife negotiating a big sea change in their relationship as they grapple with pregnancy and the future of their family. This is a normal precipice of transition for any couple, but when it's a couple-plus-boyfriend arrangement, the prospect of raising children together brings out Doug's deepest desires and wishes -- ones that he's been able to avoid being honest about for some time but now must come to light. When his wife reveals he is pregnant, Doug realizes how much he wants to be a father, in the same way he grew up.
The notion of a throuple is often played in media for its salaciousness or novelty, but what's striking about this narrative is how even-handed and well-executed its take on the romantic relationship drama is, and how respectfully it takes this trio's conflict seriously, even amid its flourishes of social comedy. Relationship dramas delineate and excavate the emotional terrain between people, often capturing the push and pull between partners as they negotiate a change or conflict. That's exactly what happens here, as Doug realizes his desire and communicates that with Claire. While the film has its touches of observant, wry humor and a gentle, naturalistic style, it builds up to this difficult, potentially marriage-altering conversation with high stakes for Doug, and the emotionally immersive writing and directing puts us in his shoes with intimacy and sympathy.
As Doug, actor Will Dagger's funny, vulnerable performance hits the comic notes of the script and works well off actor Paloma Garcia-Lee as Claire. But ultimately, Dagger's performance is quite moving, revealing unique layers as the story goes on. Part of the dramatic question is what will happen to this three's-a-crowd-now arrangement, but the most resonant arc is Doug learning to be honest, first with himself and then with his wife, who is genuinely committed to leading a different life from the mainstream. He must confront how his fear of losing love made him quiet, and the film's true dramatic question is whether or not his fear wins out, or if he will be true to what he wants.
Throughout the film, POLY cuts between the present action and footage of Doug as a father, a shuttling that makes the film's ending somewhat ambiguous. Are those images of Doug with a child a flash-forward, or imaginings of possible futures? We are not entirely sure, but we know that whatever Doug chooses, it's a hard, painful choice, and the film's gift is being empathetic in its nuanced portrayal of Doug's romantic life in all its complexities, as unconventional as it may be.
