The Five-Year Engagement
Directed by Nicholas Stoller
- comedy
- drama
- romance
The story
Exactly one year after Tom meets Violet, he surprises her with a wedding ring. By all accounts, Tom and Violet are destined for their happily ever after. However, this engaged couple just keep getting tripped up on the long walk down the aisle.
What it’s like
Warm, bright San Francisco light, the kind that spills across hillside houses and sunny restaurant kitchens, gives this comedy a easygoing, sun-washed feel that never tips into gloss. The camera stays close and conversational, lingering on faces during awkward pauses, with a loose, handheld looseness in the party and dinner scenes and bright, unhurried wides of the city and the Bay. The score is light and pop-leaning, with the soundtrack carrying much of the mood, and the dialogue does most of the work. The vibe is affectionate and a little rueful, good for a lazy weekend afternoon, a comfort rewatch, or a night in with a friend. Pacing is comedic and digressive, running long in places, with a tone that mixes sweet sincerity and bruising embarrassment. Its central arc follows a couple whose devotion is tested by a string of delays and disappointments, and the film slowly lets its heartbreak and humour sit side by side. Language is frequent and crude, and there is some sexual humour and drinking, but no real violence and little real menace; the discomfort is mostly social and emotional. It suits viewers who want a grown-up romantic comedy with real feeling and a lot of laughs at their own expense.
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