From Omeleto.
A woman questions her marriage.
GOODBYE TANGO is used with permission from Jason Laurits. Learn more at https://jasonlaurits.com.
Ruth’s beloved hamster, Tango, has died. Tango was the only real source of affection and love in Ruth’s life, and now she’s left with just her curmudgeonly partner, Connie, who would rather sit with her puzzles instead of spending time with Ruth.
With Tango gone, Ruth is left with a sense of raw grief and deep despair. Connie does her best to be sympathetic, but her efforts don’t meet Ruth’s needs. Resentful and questioning the meaning of life itself, Ruth wonders if it’s time to face the hard truth of her marriage, and whether or not she should stay in it.
Directed and written by Jason Laurits, this quirky short dramedy finds a woman at an emotional crossroads, grieving the loss of a beloved pet and confronting the abyss of neglect and resentment that is her marriage. It’s thorny psychological terrain but conveyed with wry humor and a distinctive eccentricity in visuals, tone and telling. The result brings out both the relatability of a common relationship dynamic and the absurdity of the human condition, as we try to find some consolation in an often bewildering world.
The storytelling’s pace is deliberate, but it often pulls viewers along by creating often jarring juxtapositions, starting from the opening of Ruth at the grave of Tango, crying out in raw grief. Connie, on the other hand, seems detached from the proceedings, a diffidence that actor Marilyn Busch plays as a dry, sometimes comic contrast to Ruth’s more open emotionality. It’s a strong opening image that sets up their dynamic, which is explored more deeply as the narrative moves ahead.
We flashback to just before Tango’s death, as Ruth prepares a surprise for her anniversary with Connie. Visually stylized with soft, warm yet muted colors and richly imagined production design, the domestic scenes and their equally stylized dialogue have a formal, mannered quality that fans of Wes Anderson will find intriguing. Within this milieu, Connie and Ruth’s relationship flounders, characterized by disinterest and incompatibilities of temperament and personality.
Ruth’s journey is her growing awareness of her dissatisfaction with this state of affairs. Anyone who has questioned a long-term domestic partnership will relate to Ruth’s uncertainty and doubt in the face of her loss, and scenes where Ruth and Connie sit together, one partner wanting connection while the other is off in their own world, evokes the aching pain of emotional distance with startling, stinging clarity. As Ruth, actor Joan Shangold’s poignant performance captures feeling completely alone, even with a partner at our side. Wondering if it’s better to be alone than feeling lonely in a marriage, Ruth faces the hard truth of her life with Connie.
But just as she’s given up hope, GOODBYE TANGO ends with a glimmer of it and a recognition that we all have emotional limitations. Marriage isn’t hard because our partner is imperfect; it’s difficult because it requires sustained effort, and digging in when we’re most tempted to check out. Our efforts may not be perfect, but as long as they’re being made, it may just be enough to bumble along, both parties weathering the ups and downs of life, together.
