Rachel, Rachel

Even in 2020, I don't think I have seen another film handle dream sequences as well as this does. I had a long discussion as to why Rachel and Racheal are pronounced the same, even though one is missing an "a". As you can tell, I am very smart.

Newman's directorial debut is about as quiet and restrained as a movie can get. With gentle exactitude, Woodward captures the wounded longing of the lead character, but is honest enough in her performance to show how quickly that can transform into an off-putting neediness or curt self-absorption. It's natural to feel sympathy for Woodward's Rachel. That shouldn't prevent us from seeing the way solitude has shaped her in problematic ways. Newman employs an elegantly unobtrusive directing style.

Woodward is fantastic as a lonely woman who struggles with some form of PTSD that has caused her to be emotionally stunted. She gets completely enveloped in her character to give a very rich portrayal. Newman's direction is claustrophobic in a way to emphasize the titular character's imprisonment in her town and in her head.

Beautiful and vastly underseen

Good, but not like Seinfeld said.