“The Meddler” is one of those movies you watch and thoroughly enjoy, yet the more you think about it, it starts to lose its luster. Mind you, Susan Sarandon is perfectly cast here and she’s obviously relishing the opportunity to play a multi-faceted character for the first time in years, but there’s an underlying iffiness to both her character and director-screenwriter Lorene Scafaria’s approach: The movie seems to argue that Sarandon’s character, who is intensely intrusive to anyone within her vicinity (hence the title), is right to be so singularly focused on imposing her will onto others, despite the fact that her deliberate disrespect of boundaries is downright abusive. Nevertheless, the movie is so well directed and acted that it’s easy to overlook those issues until the end credits have rolled, and Sarandon is particularly well-matched with J.K. Simmons as her patient love interest. Perfect for a quiet Sunday afternoon.
Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)
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