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The 2021 version ofScenes From a Marriageopens with a scene that is not from a marriage.
After passing multiple masked crew members, she sits in a pretend bathroom, cell phone in hand.
(The fifth installment saves its fourth-wall shattering until later.)
Its a curious, initially jarring approach whose purpose isnt immediately clear.
Is the idea to emphasize how much focus Chastain and Isaac bring to their performances?
But he neednt have bothered.
In other words: The gender norms, they have evolved.
Fortunately, and not surprisingly, the two stars make this thing live.
When the moment calls for it, there is real, palpable heat between them.
The actors and the series as a whole are careful not to paint Mira or Jonathan with reductive strokes.
Both Chastain and Isaac play them as human beings whose edges can sharpen or soften depending on the circumstances.
