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Rose Byrne is almost the sole focus. There are several important voices that we barely see. A formal choice that doubles as the argument. What it generates is noise. Overwhelm, guilt, the low hum of panic even when nothing’s on fire; and here, quite a lot is.
I have vivid memories of watching this at the cinema, especially the delayed opening credits and Beck’s “Everybody’s Gotta Learn Sometime” arriving about 20 minutes in. A song I had no idea was coming. Its appearance and reprise at the end are moments that have stuck with me.
The nonlinearity isn’t as complicated as it first felt, but it still keeps repeat viewings interesting.
Above all, it’s just such a fucking good *film. *A story that could only work in cinema, and a beautiful collaboration from Gondry, Kaufman and Bismuth all at or near the height of their powers.