She Came to Me

Grade: B+

She Came to Me has plot developments that are among the most random I’ve seen in a movie. Our main players are Peter Dinklage as an opera composer, Anne Hathaway as his therapist wife, and Marisa Tomei as a professional tugboat captain. There are more characters that intertwine, and subplots upon subplots. All are interesting, and director Rebecca Miller impressively keeps the plates spinning.

Patricia (Hathaway) has a teenage son from her first marriage: Julian. He has a girlfriend (Tereza), whose mother Magdalena is Patricia’s and Steven’s (Dinklage) cleaning lady. Magdalena’s domestic partner Trey is a court stenographer and passionate Civil War buff. He participates in re-enactments and is a stickler for detail. “There’s a Cup O’ Noodles in your tent. Really?”

While walking his dog during Patricia’s sessions (she works from home), Steven stops at a bar for a quick drink and meets Katrina, Tomei’s tugboat captain. She has a diagnosed sex addiction. They have a fling on the boat, and it does wonders for his recent writer’s block, inspiring at least one new opera.

The ensemble does work that is among the best of their career, especially Dinklage. Is it bad that I laughed at a POV shot where he is talking to some colleagues, and the camera is looking up at them from below as if it’s a little kid talking to grownups? Hathaway is lovely, courageous, and has perhaps the most unpredictable character arc. Brian d’Arcy James is just right as Trey, the stepdad-of-sorts who is an uptight conservative taskmaster, but just wants what’s best for the family. The intermingling of everyone here might seem too coincidental at first, but all the intricate details about them and what they do come into play by the end. Rebecca Miller has darts that are all over the board, but everything sticks.

I could best compare She Came to Me to Manchester By the Sea or Your Friends and Neighbors. I wondered if it was going anywhere, where it was going, and if it would end up amounting to anything. The answer is a “yes” across the board. Though they obviously make mistakes, these characters are good people deep down inside, and by the end, everybody gets what they want. I like it when people I like are happy.

Grade: B+