Competing in the Narrative Competition at the SXSW Film Festival,Breaking Upwards is a film about planning a relationship breakup so that hopefully no one gets hurt. The film is directed by Daryl Wein and written by Wein, Zoe Lister Jones, and Peter Duchan. Wein and Jones also play the leads in the film with the same names.
Breaking Upwards begins with Daryl and Zoe deciding that after four years of dating, their relationship isn’t going anywhere so they'd better break up. The catch is that they’ve become so comfortable with each other breaking up is not going to be an easy task. So, they figure that they’ll slowly wean themselves off of being around one another. Apparently the two haven’t heard of the Band-Aid trick. One quick motion always gets the job done.
Daryl and Zoe set up “days on” and “days off.” A few days a week they’ll be together, like a couple, and on the off days they do their own thing. As the story moves along jealousy and anger being to enter the picture. Is he flirting with that girl? Is she dating that guy? They begin to find out that making a breakup last longer is actually a more painful process.
Daryl and Zoe begin the movie thinking they’ve figured it all out. They seem to think “why hasn’t anyone thought of this great idea before?” It’s so simple, so genius. Instead of a fast breakup we’ll do a slow one. But they soon find out that the opposite is true.
Breaking Upwards is a lesson in dealing with relationships. Relationships are bigger than a plan. They cannot be planned. They are something that either works or doesn’t work. If it’s not working it’s time to move on. Keeping yourself in relationship limbo isn’t healthy or good.
The ending to Breaking Upwards is inevitable, but that doesn’t make it any less emotional. Sometimes people just aren’t meant to be together. We may want Zoe and Daryl to realize they should get married and grow old together, but it’s not going to happen. It’s hard to accept because we want and need our happy endings, but Breaking Upwardsoffers a real ending, not a contrived Hollywood ending.
These characters are doomed by their choices. They may think they’re outsmarting the world, but really they are setting themselves up for more disappointment and anguish. Breaking Upwards is an emotional ride and should make us all think about our own relationships.
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