Movie with Abe: The Bay of Silence

The Bay of Silence
Directed by Paula van der Oest
Released August 14, 2020

Relationships evolve over time, and the level of intimacy also changes as people spend time together. When two people are just with each other and thinking of no one else, they may feel extremely connected and bound to one another in a way that simply isn’t possible when anyone else is around. Couples may interact differently even one-on-one with others nearby or watching them, and that can affect their dynamic and the way that their relationship works. Raising a family together also has a transformative impact, and there is much that partners can learn about one another by seeing the way that they speak to and treat young children.

Will (Claes Bang) and Rosalind (Olga Kurylenko) have a romantic start to their relationship surrounded by the beauty of Europe. After they are married and raising three children, including a newborn baby, Will is startled by Rosalind’s erratic behavior. She seems unable to ground herself in reality, and when she takes the children and disappears, Will becomes very concerned. Through his panicked search for her, Will realizes there is plenty that he doesn’t know about his wife, and frequent interactions with her former stepfather, Milton (Brian Cox), do little to put his mind at ease about problematic indicators that should have earlier told him something was wrong.

This is a film grounded in memory, one that finds its protagonists referencing poignant and pivotal moments in their lives to direct them in their next steps. Will recalls the bliss and attraction he first felt when he met Rosalind, and seems plagued that perhaps he was too enamored to really get to know the person she was. Rosalind is lost in grief after a traumatic incident, and struggles to latch on to the things she still has, namely her husband and her children. This film is equally about her own unraveling and the unraveling of the stability of what Will thought was a strong and enduring marriage, one whose cracks begin to show when he learns that the way his wife is acting is nothing new. That process is less than compelling, losing potency with each new revelation.

Bang is an actor best known for films like “The Square” and “The Burnt Orange Heresy,” and here he once again plays a man who gradually surmises that he knows much less about what is going on than he initially believes. Kurylenko, famous for “Quantum of Solace,” delves into the character of Rosalind, embracing her sense of being out of place and unable to readjust to stability. Cox, currently chewing television scenery on “Succession,” is cast in an expected role that allows him to do more of the same. This film begins with an intriguing premise, but like “Heresy,” doesn’t satisfactorily find clarity or fulfillment. Positioned as a thriller, this film feels more like a meandering and directionless drama.

C+