Puzzle movie review & film summary (2018)

The fact that Agnes displays a knack for such an old-fashioned, analog activity makes sense, even though she never knew she had it in her. She dresses in conservative cardigans and skirts and pins her hair back simply, disorienting us at first as to the era in which “Puzzle” takes place. Another birthday gift she receives is an iPhone, which she’s initially reluctant to use: “It’s like carrying a little robot in your purse,” she complains. But the puzzle and the phone together become the tools she ultimately uses to explore the world outside her insular cocoon of blue-collar Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Agnes eventually works up the nerve to hop on a train to New York City, where she discovers an entire store full of complicated puzzles for her to explore, as well as an unlikely friendship with a champion puzzler named Robert who seeks a partner for an upcoming competition. He’s played by the great Irrfan Khan, who immediately changes the tone and energy of “Puzzle” simply through his charismatic presence. A wealthy inventor living alone in an ornate Manhattan brownstone, Robert has a playful, low-key sense of humor, which he uses to draw Agnes out of her shell. Macdonald and Khan have an enjoyably prickly chemistry with each other off the top, which steadily evolves into a bond that’s unexpectedly deeper.

At the same time, though, what’s fascinating about “Puzzle” is the way in which it depicts the other characters in Agnes’ life. They may look like types, but they’re more complicated than that. Even though she keeps her day trips and puzzling a secret from her family—and she’s a surprisingly cool liar—she does so through her own sense of insecurity. There’s no real “villain” here, per se. Her husband, Louie, is a decent, hardworking man who happens to have traditional notions of family and gender roles. He’s grown accustomed to having dinner waiting for him on the table when he comes home from a long day’s work, because that’s the way it’s always been. He’s never cruel or abusive toward her. He loves her—but he also expects her to go to the grocery store to pick up the specific kind of cheese he likes.

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