While her husband and two sons join in the festivities, Agnes (Kelly Macdonald) strings streamers, inflates balloons, bakes a birthday cake, and pauses a moment before blowing out the candles. All you need to know about Agnes’ lot in life told in one concise, wordless preface. The jigsaw puzzle she receives as a present does the trick; our mousy little Edith Bunker-ish homemaker is a picture puzzle savant, twice completing a 1,000 piecer in one sitting. Before long it’s off to New York and into the arms of an exotic (by New Jersey standards) puzzle-partner Robert (Irrfan Khan). The actors play well off each other, even if the motivation for romance is a bit confounding. Short of turning a cliched good provider into a cliched abusive spouse, there’s not enough here to justify the affair. The only missing piece to this otherwise easily fathomable romantic Puzzle is why Macdonald doesn’t get more starring roles. Marc Turtletaub directs a screenplay by Oren Moverman (The Messenger, Rampart) and Polly Mann. (2018) — Scott Marks
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