There Goes Somebody's Miracle...

You know, I'm praying for it.

  • Reviews
  • Food
  • Travel
  • Just This
  • About

Explore

  • All Reviews
  • Movies
  • Books
  • @ Third Coast Review
  • Film Work

Connect

Movies · August 3, 2018

Review: Puzzle

This is a crosspost with Third Coast Review.

Based on the synopsis alone—a housewife discovers she has a talent for solving jigsaw puzzles and enters a competition—you’d be forgiven for thinking that Puzzle, directed by Marc Turteltaub, is a quirky, wholesome competition film that fits in nicely with the likes of The Queen of Katwe, Miracle or even Rocky, those age-old tales of the underdog with an unexpected talent conquering life’s toughest obstacles to win it all. They’re favorites for a reason, the way they get us to cheer on the hero, bite our nails with anticipation and celebrate their eventual triumph.

Puzzle will wind up being a favorite, to be sure, but it won’t be because of any resemblance to the formulaic narratives that precede it. Turtletaub, working from a script by Polly Mann and Oren Moverman (which is itself an adaptation of a 2009 Argentinian film), has crafted an unexpectedly moving portrait of strength and self-expression built around, of all things, a puzzle-solving competition (which, a quick Google search tells me, is a real thing.)

Kelly Macdonald, who with any luck will become the star she should be after this impressive turn as Agnes, a repressed housewife coming into her own, carries a film that subverts expectations at every turn, opting instead to focus on Agnes’s internal journey rather than the lazy, prefab narrative of a competition. Agnes is the softspoken wife of Louie (David Denman), a mechanic, and two grown sons, Gabe and Ziggy (Austin Abrams and Bubba Weiler, respectively), who still live at home. As the film opens, we’re at a birthday party, and it isn’t clear until she’s blowing out the candles on a cake she baked and walks out to the dining room herself that it’s her we’re celebrating. Such is the life Agnes leads.

Among the gifts at the party are a new iPhone she hasn’t a clue how to use and a 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle that, once she’s finished cleaning up after breakfast, Agnes manages to put together in no time at all. Eager to try the feat again, she makes her way into Manhattan to a puzzle shop where she picks up two more, each another thousand pieces. This is our first hint of just how bold Agnes is capable of being; for a woman who’s life revolves, literally, around making sure dinner is on the table when her men get home, it’s quite an undertaking to make a trip to the city on her own.

While there, she notices a flyer advertising for a puzzle-solving partner for an upcoming competition (again, they exist) and snags the number, just in case this newfound talent isn’t a fluke after all. (It isn’t.). As if Macdonald isn’t genius casting enough, the film really comes into its own with the introduction of Irrfan Kkan (The Lunchbox, Slumdog Millionaire) as Robert, the other puzzler who’s in need of a new partner.

Choosing Khan for this pivotal role is doubly impressive. Not only does it place a certain weight on the role, as Khan is as accomplished and capable an actor as any American counterpart, but it adds a much-needed diversity to the cast. To put it bluntly, he is the last kind of man with whom you’d ever expect a woman as vanilla as Agnes to find a connection.

From there, the competition-centric plot comes into play (though never too much). Agnes must sort out how to balance twice-weekly practice sessions in the city with her responsibilities at home as Louie, we learn, is not the type of enlightened spouse who’s just fine with his wife pursuing her own interests at the expense of his clean laundry and warm dinner. There’s a palpable repression in Agnes’s life, from her husband’s innocuous but suffocating expectations to her inability to comfort her child as he confides his pain in her (the distance between them in this anguished scene speaks volumes).

The energy and inspiration she draws from her time with Robert, then, may seem cliched; what she can’t find at home, she finds in this new and exciting world. But Turtletaub draws out of both Macdonald and Khan the kind of honesty that keeps such saccharine potholes at bay. They’re two lost, broken adults of a certain age aching for purpose in a world that tells them they’re long past their prime.

We watch as the puzzle competition draws near and happens, but then again we don’t. There are no countdown practice montages or suspenseful buzzer-beaters here; in fact, we only learn of the outcome of the competition because Agnes, still humble if worlds more self-assured, tells someone of it in a phone call. This refreshing approach to a well-worn narrative template, coupled with captivating performances from both Macdonald and Khan, makes Puzzle a curious thing indeed: that rare kind of film where every piece fits just as it should.

 

Share this:

  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr

Posted By: Lisa Trifone · In: Movies

A Desk Here, A Desk There
Review: Madeline’s Madeline

You’ll Also Love

2021 [in film]
Review: Eric Rohmer’s Tales of the Four Seasons
Review: Some Kind of Heaven

Get on the List

About Photo
Hello! I'm Lisa, and this is—or rather I am—Somebody's Miracle. Explore everything I'm watcing, reading and baking, all my far-flung adventures and ones closer to home. Thanks for reading.

Connect

Get on the List

Subscribe for the latest posts, musings and updates directly in your inbox.

Categories

  • Reviews
  • Food
  • Travel
  • Just This
  • About

Search

From the Archives

June 2025
S M T W T F S
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
2930  
« Jul    

lisabeesa

Two years ago today, I was coming off what - until Two years ago today, I was coming off what - until that point - was the biggest adventure of my life. I bought a home. I turned 40. I spent a month in Paris. I’d hit a new career milestone. Life was every bit what I imagined it could be. 

Then I walked into a first date with a guy I met on the internet and very quickly realized my (our!) best adventure had just begun. 

Two years of getting my goat (and delighting in it), because you love to see me laugh. Two years of not just making dinners but plating them, too, because you know I like a pretty plate. Two years of grand gestures not because you’re big on gestures, but because I am.

I thought I had it all figured out, and I think I would’ve been fine if you’d never walked into my life. But good grief am I glad you did. ❤️
🎄 Holiday Playlist! 🎄 It's my favorite trad 🎄 Holiday Playlist! 🎄

It's my favorite tradition (of so many!) of the season: my annual holiday playlist. Twenty-four songs. Two hours of tunes.

Sabrina Carpenter and The Kinks. My Morning Jacket and Kacey Musgraves. Ben Folds and Bette Midler and Bad Religion. 

You can listen on Spotify at the link in my bio!

Happy, happy holidays to you and yours. Wishing you a joyful season!
I’d watch Pablo Larrain’s version of paint dry I’d watch Pablo Larrain’s version of paint drying, but thankfully his latest biopic of a famous, troubled woman (after JACKIE and SPENCER) is a far more engaging fever dream of passing time and missed opportunities.

MARIA, featuring a performance by Angelina Jolie that vibrates with vulnerability, is not perfect but it is fascinating. 

Now in theaters; on Netflix next month. Full review at the link!
My phone yelled at me this morning that I was out My phone yelled at me this morning that I was out of storage space, so over a couple cups of coffee I went back through this year’s photos and videos to purge what I don’t need on my device. 

Stumbled on this snap Brian took of me over dinner back in…June?…and honestly, I just love it. I love the way he sees me and I love the way I look when I see him. ❤️

Take care of each other. That’s all.
Eight years ago this week, @justin.f.brady and I w Eight years ago this week, @justin.f.brady and I went to see @waitressmusical on Broadway, and after the show we were treated to full band karaoke with die-hard fans. 

At the end of the show tunes lovefest, @sarabareilles—who wrote the show’s music and was hosting the karaoke—took to the mic to perform Brave, and it was more cathartic than I think any of us realized in the moment. 

It was the night before the 2016 election and none of us were (looking back now) as worried as we should have been. I had early voted, the wind seemed to be at @hillaryclinton’s back and we were ready for history to be made. 

I’ve thought about (and talked about) that moment a lot in the years since - it’s a great story! But especially today, as we’re on the eve of another monumental Election Day, I am imploring anyone reading this who may still be unsure or may not yet have a plan to be brave and vote for the person who is NOT a convicted criminal, serial sexual assaulter, con-man and dictator-in-waiting. @kamalaharris is the only way forward.

We can get back to debating policy in four years. For now, please vote for humanity, for democracy, for decency and for sanity. I wanna see you be brave.
Signs of life! 👋 I feel like I’ve been in a Signs of life! 👋 

I feel like I’ve been in a fog the last week or so, and it’s going to last at least through Tuesday…but I’m here, I promise!

Got to catch @musictheaterworks’ LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS (with the lovely @yersha_la_la_la for company!) and it was delightful. Great production with just a hint of that community theater patina, a bit rough around the edges. (Is it just me or is that S in “Florist” totally upside down?!)

Full review coming soon at @thirdcoastreview!
This one gets a spot on the grid! Congrats to Drew This one gets a spot on the grid! Congrats to Drew and Jean on a beautiful wedding day and the start of an exciting new chapter. (But really, thanks for such a great reason to wear my new favorite dress! 😉)
I absolutely love this time of year. 🍂🍁 I absolutely love this time of year. 🍂🍁
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Site Disclosure

Copyright © 2025 There Goes Somebody's Miracle... · Theme by 17th Avenue