Unlovable is a 2018 comedy/drama about a sex and love addicted woman who learns what real intimacy is when she starts making music with a reclusive man.
The Duplass Brothers, Jay and Mark, have been behind a slew of inventive and often left of center movies that span a wide spectrum of genres, sometimes acting in, sometimes directing, usually producing smaller films that are quirky yet impactful. From Safety Not Guaranteed to Creep to Blue Jay to many more, theirs is a collection of interesting picks that really set themselves apart. Now comes their latest, Unlovable, another that looks from a distance to be a funny, skewed take on a slightly whacky situation but slowly reveals it’s anything but. Director Suzi Yoonessi, working with a script co-written by Mark Duplass, Sarah Adina Smith and the film’s star Charlene deGuzman, delivers an uneasy balancing act that isn’t always warmly consumable but nonetheless neither is its subject, making this a memorable little gem.
Joy (deGuzman), a children’s television performer, ironically enough, is not so happy. Young but uninspired, she is finding the dark corners more at home, thinking maybe an end is better than moving on. Hollowed out, she, somewhat humorously, decides a mix of medicine and confectionary is the way to do so. She finds herself craving the only thing that delivers any zest, that of sex, taking to it with diligence with live-in boyfriend, Ben (Paul James) … and many assorted partners on the side. However, when that relationship ends, and she loses much more, she finally looks for help in a 12-step program, meeting fellow addict Maddie (Melissa Leo), who agrees to take her in as her sponsor. Once in Maddie’s home, she’s told to give it all up, cold, something not so easy to do, but even further, to steer clear of Maddie’s brother Jim (John Hawkes), a brittle man dealing with his own host of demons. Ignoring such, develops a bond with Jim, the two finding making music a key to survival.
Sex is always a curiosity in movies, and while it’s often played for romance or lust, a few films go underground to shine some light on a darker side. Unlovable seems to understand the fact that audiences are going to be a bit weirded out and bridges that gap with a weighty sense of humanity laced with irony, giving Joy a strong, grounded presence while able to color some of her experiences in laughs. It’s opening moments establish much about that, with its desperate urgency, setting a purposefully wobbly tone that hooks fast.
Addiction is at the heart of the story and always on the front burner, with Yoonessi deftly keeping Joy’s plight dancing on the flame, even as she journeys through a number of stages hoping to give her escape. Along the way, there are pitfalls of course, the film perhaps unable to avoid a few trappings of the genre but still compelling in making Joy’s struggles emotional. Tasked with going a full month clean, defining and steering clear of triggers (of which there are many) proves almost impossible, yet her connection with Jim gives this effort some breathing room, the two linked by their passions behind instruments, she the drums and he a guitar.
Nicely skipping clichés that seem ever ready to pounce, the relationship between the two is wonderfully committed, always interesting, and given depth by earnest performances. Like addicts ourselves, we crave happy endings in movies, and while Unlovable understands this, defies a few conventions in traveling us to its finale. Recovery is not easy, yet immensely rewarding. So is this movie. Recommended.