The Killing of Two Lovers

The American director Robert Machoian deals with the breakdown of a long-term marriage that is shown almost entirely from the inside of a beat-up van. Behind the wheel is David (Clayne Crawford), who is trying to come to terms with the fact that his wife is seeing another man; he sees his children only at the appointed time, and he is once again living with his father, who still demands sweets from him. Though his children expect, above all else, to hear new jokes from him, David is finding it increasingly difficult to convince them, and the rest of their little world, that he is not upset by the situation. Without a hint of sentimentality, which probably wouldn’t have even been possible in Utah in winter anyway, Machoian shows us how difficult it is sometimes to admit you are suffering. Surprising from the very first scenes, he looks at an ordinary man forced to wait—including for the person who is most important to him to love him again. A man trying to avoid, at all costs, an explosion with catastrophic results.