User reviews

Depicting the problems that can arise when deeply held spiritual beliefs clash with notions of personal freedom, Disobedience is the story of a forbidden love given a second chance. Based on Naomi Alderman's 2006 novel, written for the screen by Sebastián Lelio and Rebecca Lenkiewicz, and directed by Lelio, the film covers some of the same thematic territory as Lelio's previous features; Gloria (2013) deals with a 58-year-old divorcée trying to re-enter the dating scene by frequenting singles-bars, and A Fantastic Woman (2017) looks at a transgender waitress trying to come to terms with the death of her boyfriend, whilst also navigating a prejudiced society. In Disobedience, Lelio turns his attention towards a lesbian relationship within London's relatively insular Modern Orthodox Jewish community. What all three films have in common is the centrality of a complex and strong woman facing up to (almost exclusively patriarchal) societal hostility. Kind of like a cross between Carol (2015) and Apostasy (2017), Disobedience eschews melodrama, and is uninterested in presenting a binary story where faith is the Big Bad. Although it is certainly critical of the strictures that can result from a rigid application of Halacha (Jewish religious laws), the community itself is depicted respectfully, with the most representative Jewish character arguably the most sympathetic figure in the film. Although things can be far too on the nose from time to time, Lelio's non-intrusive direction more than compensates for that, and overall, this is a fine film, both thought-provoking and moving.

The film opens with Rav Kruschka (Anton Lesser) abruptly dying in the midst of a service. In New York, his estranged daughter Ronit (Rachel Weisz) gets a call informing her of his death, and she returns home, heading to the house of Dovid (a superb Alessandro Nivola), her childhood friend, and Kruska's protégé. Although the community isn't especially happy to see her back, Dovid offers her a spare room. She accepts and is stunned to learn he is married to Esti (Rachel McAdams), another childhood friend. Over the next few days as the community prepare for Krushka's levaya (funeral), it becomes clear that Ronit and Esti were once more than friends, and the more time they spend in one another's company, the more their suppressed feelings come to the surface.

Thematically, Disobedience is far more concerned with the clash of views that results from Ronit's return than it is with condemning the beliefs of the community per se. When she first arrives at Dovid's house, she instinctively reaches out to hug him, forgetting about negiah (the forbidding of physical contact between men and women not related by blood, or married), and he immediately, although not unkindly, recoils. Later, there is an exceptionally awkward (but very funny) Shabbat meal, where Ronit seems to take great delight in being as outrageous as possible, riling up the assembled guests with her progressive worldview. This kind of ideological conflict, however, is also found within the characters themselves. Esti, for example, is torn between her desire for Ronit on the one hand, and her commitment to Dovid on the other. For her part, Ronit too internalises discord; although she has been estranged from him for many years, she is genuinely hurt to learn just how completely Krushka had divorced himself of her memory, seen most clearly when his obituary refers to him as "sadly childless".

Tellingly, during the Shabbat dinner, Dovid tries to play peacekeeper, whilst a couple of cutaways to Esti show her smiling to herself as Ronit burrows under the skin of those present. This kind of delicate touch on Lelio's part can be seen throughout the film, with numerous wordless gestures allowing the actors to convey backstory in lieu of exposition. For example, after Ronit arrives, although Dovid recoils when she tries to hug him, and although when she tries to light up a cigarette in his kitchen, he asks her to smoke in the garden, he accompanies her outside, shielding the flame from the wind in a gesture both kind and intimate.

On paper, the story might lend itself to a condemnation of the kind of social suffocation and emotional repression that can result from fundamentalism. Instead, however, the film spends time building a respectful, if not idealised, picture of the community's beliefs and practices. A key part of this respect is Dovid himself, an inherently decent and honourable man. In a less nuanced film, Dovid would be a fire-and-brimstone obstacle to Ronit and Esti's happiness, a Roger Chillingworth-type. Instead he is presented as someone who, like Esti, faces a difficult choice - that between his communal position and his faith on the one hand, and his genuine love of Esti and affection for Ronit on the other; his lifelong devotion to the Tanakh conflicting with modern day sensibilities. Indeed, perhaps Dovid's most salient characteristic is internal conflict. This is manifested aesthetically in a scene where he is addressing the synagogue. Lelio films the scene in such a tight close-up, that every time Nivola moves even slightly off his mark, he goes out of focus. It's a brilliant example of content generating form, and is typical of Lelio's directorial lightness of touch.

However, for all that, the film never lets you forget that this is a community of negiah, where married women must wear a sheitel wig in public, and where the genders are strictly divided at religious services. As Ronit and Esti discuss their sexuality, Esti points out that she and Dovid have sex every Friday night, "as is expected", and that the reason she was married to Dovid in the first place was that Krushka hoped "marriage would cure" her, a concept not far from homosexual conversion therapy. In this sense, although respectful of the community, the film does challenge some of the tenets of their belief system, particularly its myopic sexism.

Obviously, a major theme is sexuality. Much has been made of the sex scene between Ronit and Esti, with some critics accusing it of being little more than titillation at best, a graphic example of the male gaze at worst. However, this is to completely miss the point of the scene in relation to the whole. There are actually two sex scenes in the film; one between Ronit and Esti, and the other between Esti and Dovid. And although they couldn't be more different, they also couldn't exist without one another, as the abandonment, lust, and sense of pressure being released when Esti is with Ronit contrasts sharply with the detached, formulaic, and passionless scene with Dovid; the two scenes explicitly comment on one another. The scene between Ronit and Esti is the physical manifestation of the characters' long-repressed desire. It's a wholly justified narrative moment, and a necessary beat for the two characters. It's not an aside or a piece of voyeuristic male fantasy, it's the centre of the whole film. Together, the two scenes represent Esti's binary choice - an unbridled and sexually fulfilling, but unstable relationship with Ronit, or a dutiful and dull, but respectful and secure relationship with Dovid.

If I had one major criticism, it would be that although Lelio's direction is extremely subtle, some of his and Lenkiewicz's writing choices are spectacularly on the nose. The opening sermon is a good example - a religious diatribe whose subject is mankind's freedom to choose, the concomitant ability to disobey, and the notion that freedom is impossible without sacrifice, in a film about these very same issues. Another example is that Dovid and his yeshiva students are discussing the one book of the Tanakh dealing with sexuality rather than spirituality, the Song of Songs, whilst Esti's secondary school students are studying adultery in Othello. The worst example of this, however, is found when Ronit and Esti go to Krushka's house and Ronit turns on the radio, which just so happens to be playing The Cure's "Lovesong", a song which perfectly encapsulates their situation ("Whenever I'm alone with you/You make me feel like I am home again"). Not exactly subtle.

These issues aside though, this is an excellently crafted film. Once again examining female desire, issues of patriarchal oppression, and profound self-doubt, Lelio delivers a mature and considered meditation on the conflict between faith and sexuality. Eschewing black and white criticism of secular isolationism, Lelio respects the milieu too much to cast it as the villain. Instead, there is an elegance to the way in which he depicts it. Equal parts sensual and spiritual, the lethargic pace and absence of any narrative fireworks will probably alienate some, especially those expecting a pseudo-porn movie, but for the rest of us, this is thoughtful and provocative cinema in the best sense of the term.

Disobedience is a very well written love story between two women, set in a religious community. I loved the acting in it, Rachel McAdams and Rachel Weisz are great in it. What surprised me the most was the complexity of the male character played by Alessandro Nivola, who is a stand out in my opinion. He is incredibly written and the ending of the film where some decisions need to be made gets very touching. The movie is a bit slow in some parts but really that's my only real complaint. Overall I would recommend this movie to anyone who wants to see a love story done right, well done to everyone involved with the movie as they did a wonderful job.

It's a sad fact too and I'm sorry for laughing about it. I'm imperfect just as you are. Some people perhaps were too offended, others just too interested and overinvolved in the lesbian aspect or a certain moral value or political slant blinded them. Whatever the case. So far this is DEFINITLY the 2nd best film I've seen from 2017. If you need to know, no, I'm not gay, I didn't even feel that the gay issue in the film was of any large significance. It is of some significance, sure, but they could've used another issue entirely; And the overall meaning and theme of the film would've still been essentially the exact same.

I thought the acting, story and direction were superb. I'm really surprised more people have not found this film to be as fantastic as I did. The current IMDb rating of 6.6 seems extremely low to me. Many critics loved it, as did I. Disobedience I suppose is not a film for everyone. Overthinking can easily get in the way of this one. Just sit back and watch this subtle and beautiful film and think about it later. As the Buddha is often credited with saying, "Think less, observe more.".

I'm pretty sure many people got so offended by certain things in the film that they missed nearly all of the rich and beautiful depth that this film actually has. Sometimes the most clever truths are not so obvious, especially to the distracted mind. Scientists at this point have actually even proven the very narrow focus of the average human mind.

In my view most of the greatest pieces of art in history are the pieces that challenge the way you/we look at things. This is definitely that kind of film. This is not just another piece of entertainment like much of the regurgitated and/or meaningless trash movies of our day. This truly is a beautiful piece of art; And to those of you who watched it and missed this fact...too bad for you. More than anything else, this film is about human choice, and sadly for many, that is a very scary subject. Far too scary for some to honestly deal with. May we All hope for a today filled with greater clarity. For those of you that thought this film was good, but not that good, I challenge you to watch it again without overthinking it while watching it. Shhh...just watch and listen. 8.5/10.

Disobedience is a truly beautiful film about the challenges of being human, balancing your beliefs, your expectations and your true self. So many people struggle to accept who they really are, because they're afraid of the reactions of others. Perhaps deeply religious people have a tougher time than others, because they often judge themselves at least as harshly as their communities.

Rachel Weisz and Rachel McAdams do a great job playing the two childhood friends (Ronit and Esti) who meet again years later, only to discover that their feelings for each other haven't changed. Alessandro Nivola plays the young rabbi husband (Dovid) of Rachel McAdams character (Esti), and portrays him beautifully.

I encourage you to see it. I doubt that you'll regret it.

Yes, there was another film that came out during Avengers: Infinity War release week. I was immediately excited for Disobedience as soon as I heard about it. I mean how could you not be? Rachel Weisz and Rachel McAdams (who I am infatuated with) in a film about a forbidden romance? I was so in. I did see Sebastián Lelio's A Fantastic Woman earlier this year, so I was really pleasantly surprised to hear he had another project out so soon. I can draw parallels between the two films and while Disobedience is not perfect and has lapses its well acted and has an interesting look at a religious community being scarred by a "scandalous" affair.

The film is about a woman who returns to a very strict Orthodox Jewish community when her father dies. While there she sees her former lover who is now married. The problem is the fact that people in the Jewish community do not know about the relationship that has occured and also because a lesbian affair is frowned upon in the community. Both women also must deal with harboring the feelings that they have for each other, while attempting to maintain their standing in the Jewish community.

The first thing that's instantly noticeable about the film is its depth into an Orthodox Jewish world. The films backdrop is its strict nature and how a lesbian romance must be hidden from the community. Rachel Weisz and Rachel McAdams are great in this as expected, and have great chemistry. Their intimate scenes (which are very very intimate) are believable and are a strong point in selling the romance. I always knew McAdams was a talent since she had a good showing on season 2 of True Detective.

The film reminded me of A Fantastic Woman in a way because in that film there is a struggle to accept a transgender person, although the implications in that film are more hostile. I also couldn't help but compare this film to Carol (which is one of the very best films of the decade). Its nowhere near the levels of Carol but does a decent job for what the film is. There are lapses where the film seems slow and it suffers from its best moments being purely when Weisz and McAdams share the screen. Its still a worthy watch, just don't expect anything spectacular.

6/10

This is what we call a "slow burn" type of movie. The premise is that a woman returns for her fathers funeral in a highly restrictive Jewish community that she was shunned from for having relations with another woman. And while home, of course, her and this other woman rekindle what was lost long ago. First of all, Rachel Weisz and Rachel McAdams have absolutely stellar chemistry, some of the best chemistry I have seen on TV ever....regardless of what gender they are. Second, yes there is an explosive sex scene, but it's not the raunchy, nudity filled scenes you see nowadays. It's a very tasteful scene that shows desire and love. And of course, these women again have insane chemistry. There are several stories going on in this movie. One story is this love between these two women. The second story is about this woman living in this Jewish community not being able to be who she really is and forced to marry a man she doesn't love. So you see the struggles she has with that. The third story follows the husband who is dealing with all of this coming to a head and how he handles everything. This is a great movie, slow yes, but still worth it. The acting from the three leads is amazing. The ending....it's probably not what most people wanted, but it's more realistic than just the usual happy ending drivel we get nowadays.

This is not a story of a women caving in as some said, this is a realistic portait of a women that grew in a harsh community and succeed to confront her homosexuality. The acting of both Rachaels is superb, academy material ! And the male character is really complex and beautiful

I wanted to like this movie. It's rare that A-list actresses sign on to play lovers, and rare to see romance between women on the big screen. But a lot of things didn't quite fit, from the editing, to the storyline, to the music, to the pacing.

The score: whimsical at times, even in dramatic/tense scenes, which felt completely inappropriate. The score seemed like it belonged in a bizarre children's movie, but yet the singing scenes were very dark and sad/somber-sounding. This movie clearly took itself very seriously, so why the carnival music in parts? The cast: good acting overall, no complaints. The story: decent premise. A Rabbi's death brings together old flames in a strictly orthodox Jewish London community, and tensions rise, as well as feelings. But the end...no thanks. Editing/pacing: abrupt at times and feeling disjointed, yet also slow and lingering too long in scenes that dragged. So many directors think that if you are slow and have long, tedious scenes, you will be considered a genius for being artsy and understated. That just isn't how it works. Character development: eh. This movie really would have benefitted from more than just a few words about the past, but scenes depicting more of the history and story between the women. I want to see more depth with these women, but it does end up feeling one-dimensional due to the script and/or editing.

In sum, even today, in 2018, 9 out of 10 movies about women who love each other end with suicide/murder, a woman going back to a man, a woman cheating on her partner with a man (or woman), or some other equally unforgivable outcome, and I say unforgivable because movie producers love to portray gay/bi women as tortured and unable to experience a healthy same-sex relationship. Guess which one this movie falls under, because I won't spoil it...

My advice, skip this and re-watch Carol. I felt like this one wasted my time.

One of the most beautiful films I had ever watched . A story about , love , religion , heartbreak , friendship . The cinematography is perfect and the acting is incredible

I really wanted to love this movie. Some parts I enjoyed but was repeatedly taken out of the narrative by filmmaker choices.

The editing left much to be desired-scenes are awkwardly edited where you can see it's a different take of the same scene. Many of the edits simply appeared ham-handed and amateur.

Continuity also seems an issue; the progress of the story is chunked out, like skipping around chapters in a book. The screenplay lacks the dialog which would convey the depth of the story and it's characters.

The actors are quite good but not able to fill all the missing bits of good filmmaking. The score was musically fine but seems to have been written for a different movie. The pacing too, is slow and awkward like much of this film.

The Rachels handled what little they had to work with well. The sex scene was interesting and respectfully shot but again, the editing sucked all the life out of this love story.

Though I think this film was a missed opportunity, the potential for a well-written and directed sequel could fix what didn't work in this outing.

I really wanted to like it but kinda didn't.

Aside from being the first in line to see the next blockbuster or superhero film, I really enjoy going to see movies that show you a different side of life. Whether that be a post-apocalyptic wasteland, a medieval love story, or an inner city crime drama, movies have a way of shaping the world through different eyes and impacting your viewpoint on things for the better. Disobedience is a nice example of a film that displays a forbidden but passionate love story from a fascinating point of view, the religious angle. I no longer consider myself an overtly religious person, but if done right, the stories that derive from that of faith are certainly interesting to watch. And in Disobedience, religion is at the forefront without being overpowering. Rachel McAdams and Rachel Weisz play Esti and Ronit respectively, two lovers who find themselves back in the same town after the ladder was essentially exiled for being in love with Esti as a young woman. It's these performances, along with Alessandro Nivola as Dovid that bolster this deep drama with humanity and heart. What each of the trio goes through individually is incredibly powerful, especially when you come to realize the emotional stakes that become involved as the film near its end. I found Disobedience to be an extremely thought provoking and unique take on a romance.

7.8/10

Interesting subject matter & great acting. The tension and pacing felt off. Would've stopped watching if it wasn't for the actors.

Ronit Krushka (Rachel Weisz) is a liberated woman living in New York City. She returns to her Orthodox Jewish community in London after her estranged rabbi father's death. There are conflicted feelings about the return of the rabbi's wayward only child. She's surprised to find her former best friends Dovid Kuperman (Alessandro Nivola) and Esti (Rachel McAdams) married to each other.

Weisz and McAdams are two of the best actresses around and they deliver powerfully controlled performances. The first part is a bit slow. Mostly, that's due to the advertising that gave away its lesbian twist. The sex scene does have a quick awkward shot and I'm not enamored with the ending. This does have these actresses doing some big time lifting but the story doesn't have the highest of tension. Outside of the big three roles, this is a rather striped down movie.

This is just an okay movie, which is not bad.

The marketing for this film (if there was any) suggested that the movie was going to be a tad more dramatic than it really is.

The acting is good and the performers manifest the emotions required for the complexity of the story but I think it lacks a hell lot of pacing, it's ending is played a bit more cathartic than it should, this is a love story but not really, it wants to be a love story, a story of self discovery, a tale of religion, friendship and forgiveness and it fails spectacularly in all fronts.

Better pacing and much more defined story would have made a great difference.

This project attracted the efforts of an abundance of talents because these are very good roles. Men and women alike. Roles that actors really want.

The complexity of the two leading lady roles must have drawn an abundance of female actresses and the two Rachels are close to perfect.

The Q&A was particularly revealing.

The young and very witty director shone at the Q&A.

This was his first English language film from this Spanish speaking Chilean director and for him to put together a smooth running evenly paced film with such complexity is very illustrative of his talent and abilities.

As to which female role is the supporting role I am not sure. They are both very good roles.

'DISOBEDIENCE': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

An indie drama about a woman who goes back to the Orthodox Jewish Community she grew up in, after being outcast from it decades earlier due to her attraction to a female friend. The movie stars Rachel Weisz, Rachel McAdams and Alessandro Nivola. It was directed by Sebastián Lelio, and it was written by Lelio and Rebecca Lenkiewicz. The script is based on the book of the same name, by Naomi Alderman. It's received nearly unanimous positive reviews from critics, and it's now playing in indie theaters (like Portland and Corvallis, OR). I found it to be moving and somewhat involving, but just a little too slow-paced.

Ronit Krushka (Weisz) learns of her father's passing, and then returns to the Orthodox Jewish Community she grew up in (for the funeral). She was outcast from the community, decades earlier, due to a childhood attraction to another girl, Esti Kuperman (McAdams). Ronit is shocked to learn that Esti is now married to David (Nivola), despite the fact that Esti only ever liked girls. A forbidden love affair between the two women once again comes to formation, and it once again shocks the community.

The movie has a strong message about rebelling against conformity and following your heart (as well as fighting oppression). It's a touching love story in the end, filled with decent performances. The film is really depressing and slow-moving though. I admire how well made it is, and the important story it tells, but I definitely can't say I had a good time watching it at all. It's neither entertaining, nor uplifting. It is true to life though, and it's still an important film for people to see (I think).

There's no doubt that Disobedience attempts to tell an important story about growing up gay in a fundamentalist religious community and the lasting impact such an experience could have on someone. But as much as I'd like to sing its praises for tackling the subject matter, the execution sadly just isn't there.

This is an incredibly self-serious film, which isn't a problem in of itself should it have contained the level of substance and drama to match that tone. Instead, Disobedience repeatedly offers up melodrama and clichés more befitting of a Lifetime movie, right down to a scene where one of the leads frantically chases after the other as she departs in a taxi. There's nothing inherently wrong with melodrama, but the problem is that the film has no self-awareness. These stiff, wooden, cheesy moments are presented as if this were an Oscar-worthy feature without any of the necessary depth or nuance in the screenplay to be on such a level.

Though Weisz and McAdams are talented actors who give the material their best effort, it's for naught as their roles are severely lacking in basic characterization - you can boil them down to "the defiant, rebellious one" and "the timid, repressed one" and you've basically got it covered. And there's barely any thematic exploration beyond the very surface-level notions of repression being negative, acceptance being positive, and the basic clash between fundamentalism and the modern era. The film drags on with very little in the way of plot or intrigue once the premise has been set up, and the overly serious tone becomes more and more suffocating as it plods along. It has a somewhat grating score as well that does not fit the material very well - lush. alternately melancholic and hopeful orchestration that reaches for a grandeur that the movie itself just doesn't justify.

I'm sad to have had such a negative reaction as I really would've loved to see a great film about this subject. Unfortunately, this is really nothing more than a glorified Hallmark movie. At least they tried, I guess.

Strong 1.5/5

Ronit (Rachel Weisz), a single middle-aged photographer, returns to England from New York following the death of her father, an esteemed ultra-Orthodox rabbi who had been the spiritual leader of this non-Hasidic congregation and its institutions. It immediately becomes evident that due to personal issues she had left the community at a very young age and never looked back. As the story develops, we learn that Esti (Rachel McAdams), now wife of Dovid Kuperman (the departed rabbi's chief disciple and heir apparent, played by Alessandro Nivola) had struggled with similar issues alongside Ronit in their youth but had chosen a drastically different method of coping.

With Ronit's return, old sentiments are dredged up in a manner that upends the lives of all three in a community that simply has not developed tools for dealing with the full spectrum of matters involving private life, nature and choice that have in recent years become so normalized that we hardly lend them so much weight.

As each of the three struggle to cope with their issues, it becomes clear that there is a void in place of a guide in the doctrine of the community and that there is no one right way to cope with outlying struggles.

The directing of the picture and the portrayal of the three main characters is stellar. Aside from two seven-candle menorahs (which have no place in a Jewish home), this picture stands out as perhaps the most authentic portrayal of the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in motion picture history.

The cinematography's good, the casting's great, but having read the book first, I'm disappointed by this film.

For context, the story is about a sapphic woman who, having broken away from the strict Jewish community she grew up with in London, is forced to come back to visit once her father dies. While she's there, she meets the woman she had an old tryst with.

The novel had a lot more nuance, and by contrast the film unfortunately approaches the topic in a more indulgent and heavy-handed way. Hey, don't get me wrong, the sex scene was great, loved it, but it also made me laugh.

It was so obvious that they were playing up the explosive nature of their erotic relationship for the big screen, playing cheesy romantic music when the two women were together, changing details like sending them away to a hotel instead of keeping it in the terraced house community the way it was in the book.

It wasn't really a love story when it was a piece of literature - it was a story about the tension between human nature, the winds of change in the world, and religion. Sadly the film downplayed those deeper, meatier themes and opted to focus on sexy Rachel McAdams eating sexy Rachel Weisz' face and them spitting into each others' mouths. Which, okay. I get that. But, focus.

To conclude, sadly, the creators... kind of pulled a 'Blue is the Warmest Colour'.

I found myself thinking through half the movie how I could have done a better job. All the parts were there, but they were put together with chewing gum and duct tape instead of screws and glue.

Other movies use silence to build emotion, or let us feel the emotion that has already been building, but in this film I found myself staring blankly at the screen like my dog who was right next to me.

Even with the one surprise at the end I found myself wanting to feel something, but nothing was there. Maybe I had to much coffee earlier in the day, I don't know.