Want to hear more from the actors and creators of your favorite shows and films? Subscribe to The Cinema Spot on YouTube for all of our upcoming interviews!
Managing editor & film and television critic with a Bachelor's of Arts in English Literature with a Writing Minor from the University of Guam. Currently in graduate school completing a Master's in English Literature.
After last week’s episode, Scenes from a Marriage picks up a great pace once more. The second-to-last episode is titled “Scene IV: The Illiterates”. Here, as is the case with the previous two episodes, Hagai Levi serves as both writer and director.
In this review, I will be discussing this fourth episode of Scenes from a Marriage. There will be spoilers to follow, as the title of this article suggests. Please read ahead at your own discretion.
Plot Summary
Mira (Jessica Chastain) and Jonathan (Oscar Isaac) are sorting out their settlement at the house. They look over the boxes of belongings that are to be divided amongst them. Mira has headaches from the whole situation, and for four minutes, they have sex on the living room couch. Afterward, she confesses to changing her mind about having a divorce, but Jonathan wants closure. When he reminds her to pay her half for their daughter’s expensive dancing lessons, Mira reveals she got fired from her job because she didn’t take the offered promotion (see last week’s episode).
Even after what she had told him, Jonathan expresses his indifference to her personal matters. Mira calls him a narcissist when he tries to psychoanalyze her. She says she wants to get back together and come home, but he refuses. She then reveals that she and Paulie are no longer together, giving her all the more reasons for not wanting to sign the divorce papers. Jonathan reiterates that he no longer possesses any feelings for her, especially after all that he has endured during the separation.
Mira gets off the phone with their daughter – resulting in her crying. Jonathan reveals considering siring another child, due to learning that having offspring brings more joy and is more vital to him than seeking other romantic partners. His main reason for doing so is to break the paradigm that having children is what keeps a marriage intact. When Mira further disparages his psychological expertise and rhetoric, he proceeds to leave the house. In desperation, she locks him in, resulting in a fight at the doorway, resulting in Mira nearly killing him.
Jonathan gets up and throws the divorce papers at her feet – literally – before departing the property.
Discussion
I must applaud Levi for the writing of this episode. For a narrative that lasts sixty-six minutes, I loved the pacing and the toxic traits added to the characters. (After nearly two years of a truly horrible pandemic, this was much needed for me, personally speaking.) As the invisible third party, the viewer is invited into a glimpse of what is well… No longer a marriage. Of course, such predicaments like this also apply to people who are in non-romantic yet perhaps platonic relationships, such as close friendships.
Parakh’s principal photography along with Thompson’s production design, Hersonski’s editing, and the Galperines’ use of scoring comprise the tone that Levi’s writing requires. Even the combination of windshield wipers, rain, and slight thunder adds to the type of atmosphere that suggests every individual is left on their own from this point forward.
The title of the episode suggests that young people aren’t prepared with the knowledge of what to do with marital issues once they grow up. I believe “The Illiterates” is a good way of describing people who can’t – in a manner of speaking – “read the room”. I also think this is something that some people (perhaps Mira) have a hard time dealing with.
Performances and Character Developments
Isaac and Chastain perform wonders in this episode, and still, this seems like an understatement. The way they deliver their lines is pristine. I caught Chastain fumbling a line during their characters’ arguments at one point. However, Isaac is able to keep the conversation going at the intense pace it’s traversing. Thus, this makes a great cover-up. There’s more action in this episode – and the sex that they have at the beginning really caught me off guard. When you see how these sexual exploits create a “mirage” (as Jonathan refers to it), that’s when their characters get real ugly.
The little fight at the doorway was a bad thing (in a good way) for this series’ couple. In fact, I seriously thought Mira had killed Jonathan in this part of the scene. She threw numerous objects at him, which could have wound up in injuries. In spite of this, I was grateful he tried to keep his calm and not resort to physical matters. Jonathan means well and knows better to defend himself than causing an altercation.
Both of these characters are sensitive. This is indicated in each of their reactions when Jonathan brings up his former wife running off with another man and when Mira talks down on her husband’s knowledge of psychology.
Mira
When they discuss having to eventually explain to their daughter about their separation, Mira makes one good point. She states: “I think we should teach kids that, yeah, love ends. Relationships end and people leave and they break up, and they divorce. That’s just a part of life, and then maybe it just wouldn’t be so painful [with] all the sufferings.”
Being fired from work adds to her milieu. With her being 43-and-a-half years old (in this part of the series), she’s lost “the power that comes from being desirous”. Her lack – or shortage – of libido and inability to properly start anew with more relationships thereof are part of her growth as a human. She tells Jonathan that she and Paulie wanted to try having kids for six months as the result of an ultimatum Paulie gave her around the time of the previous episode’s events. However, this failed, leading to their break-up.
With what she has going on in her professional and romantic life, being a good parent to her daughter gives off the impression that she doesn’t care. It isn’t that Jonathan is a better parent for thinking of Ava’s well-being. There is more to it than that. Being fired from her job and being separated once more presents Mira with more obstacles. Although, I agree with Jonathan that some things cannot go back to the way they were before.
Barring Jonathan from leaving the house is a great reflection of when he was hugging her at the doorway by the end of “Scene II”.
Jonathan
Jonathan suggests that “the real suffering” for children of separated parents is the liminal space from one stage of life to the next. He finds this more difficult and traumatic for people who are going through a separation; not to mention those who are supporting or surrounding those parties.
He’s also finally moved on from their relationship, as evidenced by his sobriety and inoculation. Although, when Mira pushes his buttons, this prompts him to light up a cigarette and whip out a bottle of “revolting” pineapple vodka. He admits to enduring many hardships for two years. Jonathan says he resorted to praying to God that she returns to the family. Going back to religion when psychology couldn’t quite help adds to his personal development. I find this a better option than his idea of killing himself, Mira, or their daughter, as he mentioned last week.
This character’s use of psychoanalysis demonstrates a strong appeal to logos. He claims he isn’t punishing her for the abortion she had (see Scenes from a Marriage “Scene I”). (Jonathan does blame her for the affair but immediately regrets stating so.) For Mira to give an affront to his psychological knowledge – especially since he is a university professor with a Ph.D. – is a huge loss on her end. Whenever she does so, he avoids resorting to aggression by involving passivity into the matter. He’s accepted that he’s grown as a character and can no longer give Mira chances to make things right. Instead, he pushes her to be on her own going forward.
Final Thoughts
Although I may be two or three days late in publishing this review, I wanted to properly articulate my thoughts. (I even went so far as to watching next week’s final episode, but I won’t reveal anything just yet.)
“The Illiterates” is an improvement on “The Vale of Tears” in terms of the plot’s pacing and the characters’ developments. Levi writes his teleplay in such a way that matters start off as alright but can go awry at any given moment. Isaac and Chastain showcase this well as Jonathan and Mira, respectively. This “Scene” from a Marriage gives young persons a critical insight into a divorcing couple’s life. Not all processes of separation are like this, but it does prove important to exhibit and express the emotional endeavors when two parties are parting ways.
Scenes from a Marriage is on HBO!
For more drama and television-related news and reviews, follow The Cinema Spot on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!
Managing editor & film and television critic with a Bachelor's of Arts in English Literature with a Writing Minor from the University of Guam. Currently in graduate school completing a Master's in English Literature.
3 Comments on “‘Scenes From A Marriage’ Episode 4 Spoiler Review – “Scene IV: The Illiterates””