ReelBob: ‘After the Wedding’ ★★½

By Bob Bloom

In the end, “After the Wedding” boils down to be a glossy, high-class soap opera.

Now, that is not meant to denigrate the movie. I enjoyed it because of the performances of its four leading actors — Julianne Moore, Michelle Williams, Billy Crudup and Abby Quinn.

The path the movie takes is what holds your interest. It is a very straightforward movie — revelations, many of which an astute filmgoer will pick up on early — are sprinkled throughout the 110-minute feature.

The movie produced by Moore and her husband, Bart Freundlich, who also directed, is an old-fashioned throwback.

It’s a tearjerker, what used to be called a “women’s picture,”  that Warner Bros. could have made in the 1930s with Bette Davis and Mary Astor or MGM with Norma Shearer and Myrna Loy.

Williams’ Isabel has dedicated her life to working with children in an orphanage in Calcutta, India, where funding is hard to come by.

The orphanage is in line for a large donation from a media company run by Theresa (Moore). The only catch is that Isabel must fly to New York and meet with Theresa about the details.

Isabel demurs, but Theresa is insistent.

Once in New York, Isabel’s life begins to unravel, and her past comes back to meet her face-to-face.

“After the Wedding” is a movie about secrets, regret, sacrifice, second chances and guilt.

Freundlich, who coauthored the script with Susanne Bier and Anders Thomas Jensen, makes it easy for you to keep a step ahead of the story.

Rather than being a detriment, it actually piques your interest to see where the movie will take you and how the characters will resolve their various conflicts.

“After the Wedding” is a remake of a 2006 Danish film, written by Bier and Jensen and directed by Bier. In the earlier version, the two main protagonists were male.

Though the outline is basically the same, changing the main characters to women adds a feminist texture that touches upon the demands of motherhood, balancing a career and parenthood and the responsibilities parents owe their children.

The problem with this remake is that the solid performances fail to compensate for a story that already feels worn. It’s slow at times, with too many wasted shots of empty rooms, flowers and dying woods.

The movie tries to be artful, including the music, which is totally unnecessary. The subject matter alone is enough to carry the film.

The various confrontations between Isabel, Theresa, Crudup’s Oscar and Quinn’s Grace are not as dynamic as they should be.

A positive is that Freundlich makes Theresa’s motives for her actions a bit ambiguous. Is she being altruistic or seeking to manipulate Isabel for personal reasons? Or is it a combination of both?

Freundlich, smartly, wants you to fashion your own interpretation of events.

“After the Wedding” is a decent movie because of the work of its quartet of actors. They pump it up, providing more tension and verve than you expect.

“After the Wedding” is a small, intimate affair that falls short of its promise. But it makes a valiant effort in the process.

I am a founding member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association. My reviews appear at ReelBob (reelbob.com) and Rottentomatoes (www.rottentomatoes.com). I also review Blu-rays and DVDs. I can be reached by email at bobbloomjc@gmail.com or on Twitter @ReelBobBloom. Links to my reviews can be found on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

AFTER THE WEDDING
2½ stars out of 4
(PG-13), adult and mature themes, language