Separation City

Separation City Stars Joel Edgerton, Rhona Mitra, Les Hill, Danielle Cormack

Director: Paul Middleditch

From Herald Sun review by Leigh Paatsch at www.heraldsun.com.au:

A deceptively effective hybrid of rom-com and adult relationship drama, Separation City is easily the most appealing movie to hail from New Zealand in quite some time.

Australia’s Joel Edgerton has the lead role of Simon, a parliamentary press secretary experiencing a severe case of marital jitters with wife Pam (Danielle Cormack).

Though very much a solid citizen and family man compared to some in his social circle, Simon is tempted to stray from the straight-and-narrow when he lays eyes on a beautiful British musician named Katrien (Rhona Mitra).

Having recently parted company with cheating husband Klaus (Thomas Kretschmann), Katrien’s judgment is understandably off.  Instead of doing the right thing and immediately rebuffing Simon’s meek advances - she is friends with Pam, after all - Katrien leaves the door slightly open for a secret affair.

Scripted by renowned NZ journalist and satirist Tom Scott, Separation City impresses in the way it consistently steers clear of the expected rom-com cliches and easy laughs.

The dialogue is particularly well-written and delivered for a film of this type, with the colourful "secret men’s business" banter regularly shared by Simon and best friend Harry (Les Hill) remaining a highlight throughout.

A sudden and risky shift of location from Wellington to Berlin in the final act turns out to be an acid test for Separation City, and the film passes with flying colours. 

While some viewers may be irked by the unnecessary and intrusive use of multiple narrators to explain what is already patently obvious, there is real warmth and credibility to the film as a whole that is tough to resist.

More Articles and Reviews of 'Separation City':

Brisbane Times: A Bumbling Joel Edgerton shines in Paul Middleditch's well-etched, semi-comic take on marital discontent and infidelity.

Herald Sun: AUSSIE television favourite Les Hill is making a super-sized comeback to the big screen, alongside Joel Edgerton in Kiwi flick Separation City.

Sidney Morning Herald: The unholy mess of a marriage in crisis informs an accomplished comedy.