Many films have attempted to tackle the contrast in perspectives between men and women, but with his feature debut The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby, writer-director Ned Benson is taking on this subject matter with incredible ambition. See, The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby will actually be two feature-length films, The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Hers and The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: His. Each one will tell the story of the broken marriage between a New York restaurateur and his wife from the two character's unique perspective.
While the device of telling the same story from different perspectives isn't new—with the Kurosawa classic Rashomon being the most obvious example—I can't think of a filmmaker who dared take on the same story for two separate films in this way. It would seem a great amount of crossover would risk trying audience patience, but Benson has bolstered his chances by pulling together an incredible and charismatic cast that includes Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, Viola Davis, William Hurt, Nina Arianda, Ciarán Hinds, Isabelle Huppert and Bill Hader. While details on the film are still scarce, we do know that Chastain will play the titular missing woman, and McAvoy will play her husband. Both are featured on the fractured promo poster viewable below courtesy of Kinoposik, (via HeyUGuys):
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It's a clever image that hints to the two separate films as well as the two distinct sides of the story. Take a look at how the poster works even if flipped upside down complete with matching credit text facing the right way.
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The only thing I really must ding this poster for is the confounding photoshopping. For one, the angle on the food on McAvoy's pillow is off, and the flowers beside Chastain seem to hover over the pillow rather than rest upon it. But the most distracting element is the awkwardly photoshopped arm arranged over her mouth. The entire arm from wrist to shoulder is made up of odd angles that end in a way that truncates her shoulder. Not to mention the odd angle of her neck. It's a mess. Hopefully by the time The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: His & Hers secures a domestic release date the movie will have a poster that's less of an eyesore.
