The original film length was an astonishing 191 minutes, but what is quite new is that this love story is divided into two, which are narrated from the perspectives of the two protagonists. The director combined the two parts into one into a "popular" version of 123 minutes. The 68-minute film length difference brings a huge difference in terms of story layout and look and feel. It is conceivable that slimming becomes a romantic dating movie, which will bring better commercial prospects to the movie, but it also loses its original integrity and fullness.
The slim version of "The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them" more completely retains the main characters and plot of the dual-view version, but the weight and strength are obviously insufficient compared with the latter. The dual-view version is very literary and academic, just like a novel that takes you slowly to understand everything about the protagonist. This makes the slim version look like a teaching guide with an accelerator. The problem is not that there is too much information in the plot, but the encounters between the two protagonists and their family and friends, leaving the audience no time to resonate. Many reasons have disappeared, and the unfolding of the story seems plain and unremarkable.
Chastain and McAvoy have superb acting skills, but the differences between the two are also obvious. The hero and the heroine are a caterer and an ancient human major. Such a pair of lovers can sometimes be unimaginable. In the film, Chastain's character is tense and irritable, while McAvoy's character is easygoing and outgoing. This kind of character opposition is quite interesting, and the director has thoroughly explored it in the dual-view version.
The film is technically delicate enough to maximize the advantages of live shooting in New York. The choice of background songs is good or bad, and the work of Son Lux, a hip-hop composer from New York, is a highlight
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