Puzzle - 3 smiles

Director Marc Turtletaub uses jigsaw puzzles as a catalyst for Agnes (a wonderful Kelly Macdonald), a woman stuck in a time-warp, rather than a main plot ingredient. Unfortunately, the movie is hampered by a sluggish pace and a sterile mood that sucks the life out of various emotionally-charged scenes. And the ending is so ambiguous that it's almost as if Turtletaub didn't know how to end his film. Even though the calendar reads 2017, Agnes (Macdonald), a middle-aged mother and wife, is living in the 50s. She's a housewife who exists to serve her husband and children and nothing is more important than having dinner on the table every evening. Shopping requires that she get all the foods that her husband, Louie (David Denham) and adult sons, Gabe (Austin Abrams) and Ziggy (Bubba Weiler) want. She has no life except as it relates to her family. In fact, she even does all the work for her own birthday party. Things change when Agnes opens one of her presents and discovers a 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle. She puts the puzzle together twice in one afternoon, losing track of time. Wanting more, she catches a train into New York City and finds a jigsaw puzzle shop. Circumstances connect her with Robert (Irrfan Khan), a competitive puzzle participant, and, after some initial reluctance on Agnes' part, they become partners. And as their attraction builds, Agnes discovers herself and begins to act differently.

Macdonald, who normally plays supporting roles, gets a rare chance to take the lead and, by sheer force of her talent, she makes the movie worth seeing. Her portrayal of Agnes is deep and multi-layered. Unfortunately, Irrfan Kahn's Robert is as underdeveloped as is his romantic relationship with Agnes, which results in a lack of chemistry. The three actors comprising Agnes' family are all solid and Denham deserves credit for making Louie a decent man despite being hampered by his 'old-fashioned' values. "Puzzle" is refreshing mainly because it doesn't follow the preparing-for-a-championship storyline that so many films about competitions do.