The Ring Thing

When Sarah (Sarah Wharton) is sorting through boxes at her mother's house she comes across her father's wedding ring, which he left when he walked out several years ago. Without thinking, she shows her find to her girlfriend Kristen (Nicole Pursell) when they meet up later for a picnic at a beach in Provincetown. Kristen naturally assumes that Sarah is proposing marriage. In actuality, this is the last thing on her mind, as Sarah has a very definite phobia about marriage in general, so she is horrified; Kristen, realizing the mistake, is now totally distraught.

This nicely sets up the core conflict of "The Ring Thing," a charming drama about same-sex marriage written and directed by a married (male) couple. Back home in Boston, clearly unnerved by the realization that they have different concepts of the form that their relationship should take, the women throw themselves back into work to avoid having to address the elephant in the room. Kristen is the producer of a local TV cooking show, and she and the star are getting concerned about the program's newest executive producer, who they expect will demand changes. Sarah works as a freelance film editor alongside Gary (Matthew Connolly), who has his own distractions as is currently in the middle of separating from his husband.

Sarah is also in urgent need of health insurance, and it seems that the most expedient option would be to provide her coverage off Kristen's employer-provided policy, but the only way for that to happen is for the two of them to register as domestic partners. It is a step that Sarah is willing to take as a means to an end, but when push comes to shove Kristen cannot get beyond the fact that such a move represents a serious commitment she knows she alone in the relationship is ready to make.

Sarah's morbid fear of marriage is essentially a result of the deep unhappiness caused by her parents' divorce, which she simply cannot get over. Somehow she works out that the only way forward in dealing with this would be to make a documentary about same-sex marriage with Gary's help. The footage she actually shoots and edits is, in fact, from real-life LGBT couples, and transforms what was originally a drama about a personal issue into a fairly big cinematic investigation of the state of marriage between same-sex partners. It makes for an interesting hybrid of a movie, especially as it puts through some very salient points on the whole topic that may (or may not) impress Sarah, but will nevertheless resound with audiences.

Whether the finished documentary will help Sarah be able to move forward with her relationship becomes even more urgent than she thought, as Kristen -- who has since found contentment and happiness at work by becoming a chef -- is now offered a very tempting new job that will mean moving to Seattle. Both women have to take stock of their future and make decisions accordingly, even if that means confronting demons.

This intriguing, introspective drama comes from the same team who made "That's Not Us," a rather annoying dramedy about three couples who spend a weekend away in constantly squabbling. However, this new collaboration is a much more enjoyable affair, and not only reunites Wharton and Pursell (playing a happier couple than before), but Wharton also serves as producer, while Pursell is credited with production design. The movie is very much a team effort, as it is directed, co-written and edited by William Sullivan, and the other co-writer, Derek Dodge, is also the cinematographer.

Wharton and Pursell have great chemistry together and both give credible and convincing performances of a couple that could have been torn apart by their rather intense love. One niggling point, however: The series of flashbacks, which are only discernible as such by changes in hair color and style, are confusing to say the least.

"The Ring Thing" may not have anything much new to say about the LGBT community's adjustment to legalized marriage and divorce, but the drama that the two women is very real and is atypical of some couples who will always think that our right to marry is hardly a freedom at all.

Highly recommended.