Between the Temples (2024)

A cantor who can’t sing is a lifeguard who can’t swim, and Between the Temples knows exactly how funny and how sad that is. Jason Schwartzman plays Ben Gottlieb, more than a year past his wife Ruth’s death and still stuck: no voice, no sleep, back home with his two moms, Meira and Judith, who keep lining up dates for him. Then Carla Kessler, his old elementary school music teacher, turns up in his bar and bat mitzvah class. Her parents never let her have one at 13, and she’s done waiting. Carol Kane plays Carla with a twinkly, unpredictable spark, and their unlikely bond is the whole movie. Nathan Silver shoots it loose and shaggy, closer to Hal Ashby than a tidy indie, and the family chaos can crowd out the scenes you came for. Critics gave it 85% on Rotten Tomatoes while audiences shrugged. A 7.3 because two odd, lonely people help each other find their voices. $64.31 says you find your old school recorder in a closet tonight and play the one song you still know.

What works: Carol Kane and Jason Schwartzman have a prickly, tender chemistry, and the film gives their scenes room to breathe instead of forcing big speeches.

What doesn’t: The family subplots and the setup dates get noisy and crowd out the central pair, and the loose, wandering style takes real patience.

Who it’s for: Anyone who still thinks about a teacher from grade school, and fans of small, talky comedies that find their laughs inside grief.