Jason Schwartzman and Carol Kane share the screen in a touching story about reclaiming life and heritage
By Sarah G. Vincent/Boston Movie News
“Between the Temples” centers on Ben Gottlieb (Jason Schwartzman), a 40-year-old cantor at Temple Sinai in Sedgwick, N.Y. After a challenging year, Ben is living with his two moms—Judith (Dolly De Leon, “Triangle of Sadness”), a real estate agent, and Meira (Caroline Aaron, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”), a painter—who are convinced that finding the right woman will help lift his spirits. Encouraged by Judith, the easygoing, golf-loving Rabbi Bruce (Robert Smigel, Saturday Night Live’s “TV Funhouse”) arranges a date between Ben and one of his three daughters, Gabby (Madeline Weinstein), a Manhattan actor. However, Ben’s true struggle is his inability to sing. After a bar fight while wearing his tallit and yarmulke, Ben accepts help from his childhood music teacher, Carla O’Connor (Carol Kane). When Carla discovers that Ben teaches 12-year-olds to prepare for their Bat Mitzvahs, she reveals that she’s Jewish and always wanted one, but was prevented by her parents and the local temple. Though initially hesitant, Ben and Carla begin to enjoy the reversal of their teacher-pupil roles. But will their families interfere with their plans? And what changes will they experience after three weeks of learning from each other?
As Ben, Schwartzman flirts with the edge of burgeoning anger and horror at recognizing the limits of his lonely life of devotion. In the beginning, Ben is a broken and depressed man, and “Between the Temples” takes its time before revealing the catalyst for his plunge into depression. Schwartzman, best known as a Wes Anderson staple and has an air of innate swagger, puts on a few pounds to play Ben and retains his dry comedic timing, which one could characterize as an indie film, good-natured, thinking person’s Ryan Reynolds. While Schwartzman is ordinarily enough of a draw as the protagonist, it is almost as if decades of acting, starting with “Rushmore” (1998), were all in preparation to measure up to pairing with the legendary iconic genius Kane. It takes a special actor not to get overshadowed while sharing a scene with such a remarkable and experienced actor as Kane.
With that hair and voice, Kane is not a chameleon type or conforming actor but cannot be accused of just playing herself. Kane walked so Natasha Lyonne could run. From “When a Stranger Calls” (1979)—“The call is coming from inside the house”—to onscreen wives able to hold their own against comedy legends like Andy Kaufman in the television series “Taxi” or Billy Crystal in “The Princess Bride” (1987), Kane pioneered the way for women characters who are feminine but do not conform to demure gender roles. Kane, who is in her early 70s and possibly the oldest woman in the cast, still has it with a winning, broad smile and a simple, functional, elemental style. Although Carla does not vy for Ben’s affections, she outshines the younger women in every category. Carla can finally have the life she wants without allowing others, such as her husband, son, or other men, to define her. She only wants to embrace her Jewish heritage. Carla remembers the smiling Benny, who had a lot of chutzpah. Unlike everyone else in Ben’s life, she shocks him out of his despair by reminding him about what he loves about music, Judaism, and teaching without losing her thread. She needs him to care and reinvest in himself instead of losing himself in another romantic interest so he can find a real anchor within and outside of himself instead of changing course with each new possible partner with whom he would only connect on a superficial level. Ben and Carla have a lot in common besides their shared history. They relate to each other’s losses, love of music, and preference for retro technology such as VCRs and record players.
By recognizing that Carla is the prize, “Between the Temples” avoids the pitfalls that “Hello, My Name Is Doris” (2015), a great movie, did not. Without disappointment or awkwardness, Carla and Ben’s relationship works as an intergenerational friendship and can be more without sealing the deal or making that romantic possibility a reality. The story never undermines Carol by making her seem crazy, pathetic, or unrealistic. She retains her dignity while Ben gradually turns smitten as he gets lost in their lessons, which bleed into their leisure time. While their relationship would more comfortably fit a mother-and-son paradigm, Ben is oblivious to the Freudian subtext of his increasing interest in Carla as more than a student, teacher, or friend. It is also a rare privilege to have older characters dominate a movie without insulting the older demographic it seeks to attract. Carla is never the punchline of the joke. The Bat Mitzvah preparations are never treated as a joke but are a sincere reclamation of Carla’s identity.
“Between the Temples” never falls into archetypes or lazy tropes. When Ben or Carla try to introduce the other to their family, the supporting characters in their lives are full, flawed people who have lives outside the two on and off camera. Judith is an ambitious, meddling, converted Jew who throws herself into the customs of her religion, and she is stricter than the rabbi in upholding them. Meira, who is implied to be born Jewish, is a bit more flexible and willing to bend the rules for her family’s happiness. The fervent atheist Nat (Matthew Shear), Carla’s son, appears to have more in common with Carla’s parents and is more brittle than his mother. Part of the joy of this film is getting such a rich variety of Jewish characters.
“Between the Temples” flags when Kane recedes from the foreground so a love triangle, comedy of errors can unfold with Gabby as a more appropriate, kosher love interest who reminds Ben of a lost love. Even though Gabby is supposed to function as a temptation for Ben to return to his old life, which ultimately fails him and leads him to this midlife crisis, their attraction feels less visceral and credible as a test of whether he will move forward in life instead of regress. It seems like a no-brainer that if Carla wanted Ben, she could have him, which is why the movie is right to keep Carla’s feelings more ambiguous as she centers herself and prioritizes facing her mortality. Gabby’s introduction in the equation feels like the most sitcom-esque aspect of the story and a safe choice, but the final scene returns to the beautiful core of the main character’s dynamic.
Even though it is a contemporary film, director and co-writer Nathan Silver and co-writer C. Mason Wells, his second feature collaboration with Silver, make the visual style and narrative have an old-fashioned throwback 1970s feel. It looks as if it is a neighbor of “The Holdovers.” Bring your Dramamine because the camera is quite dynamic, with Silver favoring starting with extreme close-ups before the camera pulls back. The technique will be familiar to moviegoers who enjoy “Arrested Development” or mockumentary comedies like “Parks and Recreation” and the US version of “The Office.” While these creative visual choices convey the emotional temperature of the characters and scenes, it could be a bit much and interrupt savoring the ensemble cast’s talent. You may find yourself saying, “Not so close.”
Though flawed, “Between the Temples” is a treasure that you should see if you are a fan of any of the actors in the cast or are looking for a story that does not provide pat resolutions and offers a gorgeous character study of two people reclaiming themselves, delighting in each other and committing to a life of faith.
‘Between the Temples’
Rating: R for language and some sexual references.
Cast: Jason Schwartzman, Carol Kane, Dolly De Leon
Director: Nathan Silver
Writers: Silver and C. Mason Wells
Running time: 111 minutes
Where to watch: In theaters August 23
Grade: B+
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