Disobedience

Last night I went to see the film Disobedience and it was an incredibly poignant experience for me.  I live in a very conservative community and I have several LGBTQ friends who have been disowned by their religious families so I was very eager to see how this film treated the subject.  Ronit Krushka (Rachel Weisz) is a New York photographer who is devastated by the news that her father, a distinguished Rabbi in an Orthodox Jewish congregation in London, has died.  She returns to her childhood home and, without a lot of exposition, it is clear that the community regards her with a mixture of curiosity and scorn.  She reconnects with Dovid (Alessandro Nivolo), a protege of her father's who is poised to take his place, and Esti (Rachel McAdams), another childhood friend.  She is stunned to learn that the two of them are married.  Through a series of interactions between the two women that are fraught with tension (it is a very slow burn) we learn that they once had a sexual relationship and were condemned by the community.  Ronit is rebellious and left but the repressed Esti submitted to the will of the Rabbi and dutifully married Dovid in order to "cure" herself.  Neither woman is happy in her choice and they eventually resume their relationship, bringing consequences for Esti.  The final resolution left me a bit conflicted because, while they seem to find a way to reconcile their sexuality with their faith, it is rather vague and I don't know if their choices will bring them happiness. I know that many of my LGBTQ friends still believe even after they have escaped the repression and it torments them (Utah has one of the highest suicide rates in the country).  Both Weisz and McAdams are incredible, giving highly nuanced performances, and their love scenes are passionate and romantic (aside from one bewildering element).  Nivolo is also good as a deeply religious man caught between his duty and his love for his wife.  It is more than just a film about forbidden love and I would recommend it for its powerful exploration of the freedom to disobey.