Between the Temples

SEPTEMBER 6-11

Comparisons to the off-kilter romance Harold and Maude come easily: director Nathan Silver’s funny, touching film also focuses on a reverse May-December romance, with a depressed, death-obsessed man (Jason Schwartzman here) regains his interest in life through an unexpected relationship with a quirky, much older woman whose vibrant joie de vivre belies her age. The fact that the woman is played by ‘70s cult actress Carol Kane supports the Harold and Maude connection, as does this movie’s sweetness and sympathy for its mismatched lovers. The age gap isn’t quite as extreme, but Schwartzman and Kane are excellent in the Bud Cort and Ruth Gordon roles; Kane’s especially delightful as former music teacher Carla Kessler, infused with such infectious joy that it’s no wonder mopey Ben Gottlieb (Schwartzman), one of her old students, is irresistibly drawn to her. Ben’s a cantor at a local synagogue in upstate New York, a widower dealing with grief as well as two demanding moms. He’s wrestling with his Judaism until he finds in Carla an excited pupil, preparing for her (better-late-than-never) bat mitzvah—which rekindles his own faith. As in Harold and Maude, the world around our two lovers is flabbergasted and dismissive. Ben’s mothers want him to pursue the rabbi’s daughter. Carla’s adult son is suspicious of a pairing that’s obviously more than friendly, but not sexual. Which is the movie’s implicit point: relationships are unique, like the people in them. The movie’s amiably rebellious spirit makes it feel like a throwback to quirky comedies of the ‘70s, and Kane and Schwartzman have terrific chemistry, providing one of the all-time greatest dorky romances in cinema.  

(Rated R for profanity.)