By the Sea (2015)

Directed by Angelina Jolie. Starring Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Mélanie Laurent, Melvil Poupaud, Niels Arestrup. [R]

An unhappily-married American couple (Pitt, Jolie) are on an extended vacation in 1960s France, but striking up a congenial relationship with a recently-wed couple (Laurent, Poupaud) staying next door—and spying on them through a conveniently large and low peephole—may be just what’s needed to rekindle their dying flame. Those interested in watching solely for voyeuristic “stargazing” qualities (including hindsight-sleuthing for clues related to the impending dissolution of their real-life marriage) may get what they’re looking for, but the details of the relationship as presented are either uninteresting or implausible, and the narrative is so sluggish, it’s an insult to the comparable swiftness of slugs. The scenery and music are attractive, and the actors would be too if they had any spark, any curiosities, any passions, any humor…but they don’t, so why should we care about why they’ve lost that lovin’ feeling, or whether or not they’ll find it again? Jolie, who also directed, wrote, and co-produced (with her then-husband on the latter count), went credited as Angelina Jolie Pitt.

35/100