Beautiful photography, intense performances, and impeccable set dressing and locations define this sad story of a woman coping with desperation and bad choices after arriving in 1920s New York. Marion Cotillard (last blogged in Rust and Bone) and Joaquin Phoenix (most recently in Her) play the woman and the moody charmer who takes her under his wing. Jeremy Renner (last in American Hustle) is in about a third of it. Director James Gray co-wrote the script with the late Richard Menello, in the same jobs they filled in the Phoenix-starring Two Lovers.
Kudos to Production Designer Happy Massee (he also worked on Two Lovers and my favorite segment of Movie 43, though production design had nothing to do with why I liked "The Catch") and Cinematographer Darius Khondji (To Rome With Love). They actually got to shoot at Ellis Island in New York Harbor, which was fun for Jack and me since we visited there recently.
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes are averaging 86% to viewers' 59, likely due to the former's ability to get past the depressing plot and see its beauty.
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