Robert Machoian’s “The Killing of Two Lovers” begins like a thriller: a wild man appears with a gun over his sleeping wife and her lover. Startled by a noise, he runs away and the camera follows him down an empty street in the city of Utah, where he lives with his sick father. But a ticking time bomb of violence emerges over this drama of a marriage that is marked by its rejection and is told in unpredictable long shots.
The husband David (Clayne Crawford in a kind of Casey Affleck role) lives temporarily separated from his wife Nikki (Sepideh Moafi). They take turns looking after their four children and as part of their arrangement, she also sees someone else (Chris Coy). But while Nikki seems like their marriage is about to go away, David is all in.
On the fringes of a rugged and mountainous man, David enjoys looking after their children, although his teenage daughter, who is currently shooting, is skeptical about the separation of legal proceedings. Gray winter light washes out the flat ranch land, and the big sky and pickups (captured by cinematographer Oscar Ignacio Jiménez in Boxy 4: 3) suggest faded snaps from an old family album.
You never know when something in the air might contract and snap into place, which is caused by a sound design that is reminiscent of creaking wooden and phantom door knocks. Machoian (co-director of “God Bless the Child”) suggests that a single day of experience can cover the worries of controversial teenagers, the pain of troubled romance, and the wildest of anger. The film accepts David’s murderous urges and lands on the lingering mystery of the bonds of marriage.
Killing two lovers
Rated R. Heated Words. Running time: 1 hour 25 minutes. To rent or buy in cinemas and on Google Play, FandangoNow and other streaming platforms as well as pay-TV operators. Please consult the Policies of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention before viewing films in theaters.
