There are many reasons films get adapted. Sometimes it’s because a film wasn’t received well or, confusingly, because a film was received extraordinarily well. Adaptations aren’t necessarily a bad thing. Because someone sought director Roger Corman’s 1960 Little Shop of Horrors, we have Frank Oz’s 1986 musical edition. Without director Christian Nyby’s 1951 The Thing from Another World, we might not have John Carpenter’s 1981 The Thing — both of which are adaptations of John W. Campbell’s 1938 novella Who Goes There?. Other times, it’s because audiences are more likely to see a film they believe to be original when screened in their native land or language, rather than to experience it as originally intended. This happens a great deal in other countries with North American films and the door swings the other way. Interestingly, the latest to adapt such a film from one audience to another is writer/director Savi Gabizon who is adapting his own 2017 film, געגוע (Longing), an Israeli family drama, for North American audiences using the same name but a different cast and location. Led by Richard Gere (Chicago), Longing is a tale of love, loss, and personal redemption which is powerfully affecting in no small part due to the deceptively simple narrative which grows ever more complex as it continues.
Amid a rather busy schedule, business man Daniel Block (Gere) agrees to meet with an old girlfriend, Rachel (Suzanne Clément), whom he hasn’t seen in 20 years, as she travels to New York City from her home in Canada. Rather than spend time reminiscing, she cuts to the chase: when she moved back to Canada post-break-up, she was pregnant. She kept it from him knowing how he felt about having children, but now he needs to know. While this information would stun even the most reasonable person, there is more, and it’ll put Daniel on a path that will force him to reconsider his entire worldview.
Richard Gere as Daniel Block in LONGING. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.
What follows will not offer a comparison or comment on Gabizon’s adaptation as it relates to the original work, not merely because any adaptation should be able to stand on its own, but because this reviewer hasn’t seen it. That said, given the cultural differences between Israel and North America, of which there are many, there is certainly a curiosity to see the 2017 original as a means of discerning how certain topics within the narrative are explored from a different perspective. More interestingly, in the vein of adaptations, is the ponderance of whether Longing to געגוע the same as Psycho 1998 to Psycho 1960 or are we dealing with a Final Cut (2022) and One Cut of the Dead (2017) situation wherein the narrative bends a bit to the new location. In either case, if all Longing does is get interested audiences to consider other parts of Gabizon’s work, or even dabble in international cinema, then it’s a win-win.
The narrative is the key element to the entire film. The entry point is learning about having an unknown child, the rest splinters off into unexpected territories as each new piece of information about the son, Allen (Tomaso Sanelli), creates a new perception of who Allen is, what it means to be a parent, and all the complicated feelings that come from a different life. Just when audiences are comfortable, just when Daniel seems to have a handle on things, something else occurs, quite naturally in fact, to create new tension, new drama, and it is, to a degree, endless. This is parenting, you see. Every time you think you have a handle on things, the darn thing pops off in your hands and you must pivot, adjust to the new circumstance, and continue on. The mistake parents of past generations made is in thinking that children are simply extensions of themselves, vessels that have been given life and must be directed forcefully, rather than as their own individual people with fewer life skills than most. Each time Daniel, as a proxy, finds his footing, makes his peace with things as they are, new information arises either through conversation or general discovery wherein he must adjust and do so quickly, the audience is confronted time and again. It’s like when a child is not quite a young adult and they try to take control of a situation by refusing to do things that are expected of them within the child-parent dynamic. In the old days, the child would do what they were told or face significant punishment (sometimes psychological or emotional or physical), and this would be considered ok. Now, however, if someone takes the time to ask the child about themselves, about why they refuse, they may discover that the child is feeling internal discombobulation and is seeking to control outside factors in order to obtain some version of control (much like an adult grown dysregulated). The refusal to do what’s asked isn’t about fighting authority, but being unable to recognize within themselves the ability to articulate easily a sense of loss of control. To that end, for someone like Daniel, who is 20 years behind on parenting and comes to the title with a great deal of baggage, the constant reframing of reality is enough to knock anyone on their ass several times over. Thanks to Gere delivering a mostly understated, thoughtful performance, we, the audience, come to understand the strange resiliency that Daniel discovers about himself in light of each new version of his son he learns about.
L-R: Larry Day as Jacob and Richard Gere as Daniel Block in LONGING. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.
As the script leans toward the existential, Gabizon reveals a story about how we don’t really know people. We think we do, but we can’t see beyond certain things. When we look at children, for instance, we have a tendency to block out the things that frustrate, the things that anger, or the things that make them human. We focus, instead, on their smiles, their laughter, or their talents. But to love someone is to acknowledge all their parts, the good and the bad, and hold all of it within your heart. There are certainly moments within Longing wherein the journey does seem to grow unnecessarily complex or go one complication too far, one might say, leading to an ending that’s ultimately bittersweet and not necessarily satisfying. But the film is willing to explore things deeply, to sit with judgement, to sit with complexity, rather than just try to gloss over who these people are — Daniel, Rachel, Allen, and all the people they come into contact with during the runtime. After all, rose-colored glasses are merely a tinted lens through which to see the world and not reality. Gabizon, for all the amplified circumstances, is quite interested in reality and how our fears form our perception through which we engage with the world.
Accompanied by original music composed by Owen Pallett, Gabizon’s Longing is able to maintain the morose and the melancholic without pushing too far into depression, grounding the film with beautiful notes of jazz. At first, this comes off as merely a method of making it clear that Gabizon is dealing with adult material, but Pallett’s music also works as an auditory tether between Daniel and Allen, thereby serving as a bridge between the physical performances and the resonant themes of the film so that the totality of Longing remains connected, even in discord. Never dominating, the music, much like Gere’s performance, stands out in the silence of moments, the quiet in between talking or action; giving unexpected weight whenever it plays or engages with the narrative.
L-R: Diane Kruger as Alice and Richard Gere as Daniel Block in LONGING. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.
As summer approaches and audiences look for something to help beat the heat, a film like Longing is not likely to be the first thought. It’s not action-oriented like Bad Boys: Ride or Die, potential mysterious like The Watchers, or aimed at families like School of Magical Animals 2, but what it does offer is something challenging for those seeking a cerebral experience. One doesn’t even need to be a parent to come away questioning their own reaction in each of the varied circumstances that Daniel finds himself faced with, but I do think being one will help for the harder questions to resonate. And the questions are hard. And Gabizon doesn’t appear to offer definitive answers, opting to let Daniel speak as merely one of a myriad of probably answers that no one would want to have a need for.
In select theaters June 7th, 2024.
Available on VOD and digital June 28th, 2024.
Final Score: 3.5 out of 5.
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Categories: In Theaters, Reviews, streaming
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