Review: ‘The Swearing Jar’ is a moving tale of love and loss… and love again
‘The Swearing Jar’ is about a young woman who’s life never seems to go as planned, taking her on an emotional rollercoaster of love and loss.
It’s rare that life goes exactly as planned. It often seems that just as you think everything is working out, in comes an unexpected curve ball to throw everything off course. Adapting is a matter of survival, though that can be easier said than done. The biggest of these blows is, of course, death, whether your own terminal diagnosis or the loss of a loved one. But those left behind must go on, no matter how difficult or impossible it seems. In The Swearing Jar, a young woman has two unexpected beginnings that play out simultaneously over the course of the narrative.
Carey (Adelaide Clemens) is a would-be singer-songwriter whose happiness is repeatedly tainted by other events in her life. She is married to Simon (Patrick J. Adams), a published writer, and recently discovered that their baby-making efforts have finally paid off. However, they’re still quite young and in the early stages of their marriage, which leaves them susceptible to passionate and occasionally hurtful arguments. In the meantime, Carey meets Owen (Douglas Smith), a guitar player who works at a local bookstore and seems to have been immediately taken with her. She’s hesitant, but also enamoured by his witty flirtations. Soon enough, they’re seen on stage together and elsewhere. Yet, always present to spoil a tender moment is Simon’s mother, Bev (Kathleen Turner), who doesn’t seem to know how to connect with her loved ones.
Most interestingly, the narrative does not unfold linearly. Instead, the three sections, which consist of Carey and Simon, Carey and Owen, and the live musical performance, all playout simultaneously with the picture rotating between each chapter. As a result, audiences are not entirely sure when these periods are occurring in Carey’s life and how they affect each other. The mystery is what initially engages audiences as they try to determine how these events are connected. But its dual role is investing viewers in the characters, so they want to know how it turns out for Carey. Thus, there are no loose threads at the end. All the questions are answered and the characters carry-on to live their lives after the credits roll. However, three parts do mean three endings to some degree.
Clemens plays all her roles beautifully as Carey’s experiences shape and change her, resulting in a different version of herself in each segment. Adams and Smith play the respective men in Carey’s life in ways that are totally different, but entirely complementary to her, raising the question of whether one person can have multiple soulmates. And although it’s been some time since we’ve seen Turner on the big screen, she is perfect to play the caustic mother-in-law. Nobody can deliver a harsh criticism disguised as a caring remark like her.
Director: Lindsay MacKay
Starring: Adelaide Clemens, Douglas Smith and Patrick J. Adams
