Written by stars Michael Angelo Covino and Kyle Marvin, and directed by Covino, Splitsville is a low-key comedy drama that feels, for the most part, like a lot of other movies made in the same independent spirit, but then provides some pleasant surprises in the form of some of the funniest moments you will have seen in recent years. There was one scene here (set at a funfair) that had me crying with laughter.
Carey (Marvin) finds himself spiralling when his partner, Ashley (Adria Arjona), explains that she wants to separate. He spends some time with his friends, Paul (Covino) and Julie (Dakota Johnson), and is surprised to learn that they have an open relationship. Which eventually leads to Carey and Julie sleeping together, which complicates things slightly. Will it stop Carey from wanting to get back together with Ashley though, or will this new approach to life give him the ability to better understand what she may have felt was missing from her life.
Moving from a very twisted and funny opening scene to one small set-piece after another, Splitsville does a fantastic job of delivering both laughs and food for thought. At the heart of it is an exploration of love, monogamy, and levels of self-confidence that can affect both of those things, but the silliness builds up in a number of ways, all leading up to a finale that is almost a complete farce, but feels slightly more refined and nuanced thanks to the more laid back energies of everyone involved.
Marvin is very easy to like in his lead role, and Covino makes himself very easy to dislike, which is important as it figures into the plot more during the second half of the film. Both are equally believable, and both do well at playing things straight, even during the sillier moments. Johnson and Arjona are also excellent, the former feeling much more at ease in this kind of role than some of the more profitable jobs she has taken throughout her career. It could be said that both of these women are way out of reach of the men partnered with him, but that is also a factor that informs the material. Young Simon Webster is absolutely fine as Russ, the son of Julie and Paul, and there are a handful of very enjoyable supporting turns from others, as well as a bit of scene-stealing from Nicholas Braun in the third act.
Covino and Marvin have worked together a few times now in the past decade. I'd like to check out their previous feature, The Climb, and I really hope that this finds enough of an audience to encourage them to work together again on something that could be equally enjoyable.
I don't want to oversell this though. It's not the kind of film that will play to everyone as some kind of laugh-a-minute cavalcade of comedy. But for some, like myself, it will end up being consistently amusing and entertaining once it's got a hold on you. I was often grinning at even the small dialogue exchanges onscreen, and I very much appreciated the big laughs that were interspersed well throughout the 104-minute runtime.
8/10
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