SCREEN | Jason Schwartzman Worships 'Between the Temples'

"Can we have a shotgun bar mitzvah?"

Sony Pictures Classics / Mongrel Media

New York filmmaker Nathan Silver directs the fun lo-fi Jewish indie comedy, Between the Temples, about two widowers of different life stages who find themselves strangely drawn to each other through their connection to their temple. It stars Jason Schwartzman and Carol Kane as Ben and Carla, a cantor amid a personal crisis of faith of his own while haphazardly navigating the dating scene and his new adult bat mitzvah student who also happens to be his childhood music teacher.

Schwartzman and Kane have an amusing, mismatched chemistry that grounds the comedy of errors. Written by Silver and C. Mason Wells, their film, shot in mostly grainy close-ups, has a nice, natural pace to its lightly wacky, farcical comic interactions. There's a fun cast assembled with nosey interfamilial supporting characters played by Robert Smigel, Dolly de Leon, and Madeline Weinstein.

Between the Temples offers both specific and universal humour about Jewish adult life. Schwartzman is both naturally grumpy and funny amidst his cold upstate New York surroundings. Silver's expression of family relationships and interpersonal dealings within the context of a widower's struggle makes for an altogether charming affair.


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