Love and loss for Him and Her in Eleanor Rigby

I wanted to see this film as soon as I heard about it last year, but the “full” versions never made it to a theater near me. An ambitious project, The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby is the same story told from two different perspectives.

Originally conceived as two films, The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Him and : Her each tells the story of a hurt marriage from the husband’s and wife’s viewpoints, husband Conor, played by James McAvoy and wife Eleanor, played by Jessica Chastain. Depending on the order in which you watch the films, you are left with a very different lasting perspective.

I watched Him first, which starts with Eleanor confronting Conor and saying she needs a break. She suddenly leaves, and Conor is left wondering what happened or what he did wrong. He spends the film hunting her down and trying to reconcile. The reason for her departure is later explained. I then watched Her, which starts just after the breakup, with Eleanor attempting suicide (something you were never aware of during Him). Her demons are slowly brought to the surface throughout the film.

Since Him follows the guy, it is told in a “guy’s” sort of way. It is very linear with a straight forward plot. Her is more wandering and emotional, telling more backstory along the way as Eleanor reminisces about the past. Both together tell the complete story of a marriage on the rocks, and the viewer can feel (especially in Her) the anguish the couple is going through.

Theaters were reluctant to release 2 fully separate films at the same time, so an edited version that combined the two was released titled The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them. I did not see this one, but having seen Him and Her, I think that is definitely the way to see the full idea. I can’t see how they would edit 3+ hours down to just 2, plus Him and Her are worth watching just for the differing perspectives. Shared scenes are subtly different in each film, with the logic being Conor and Eleanor each remember events in different ways. A very heart wrenching film with brilliant acting.