Sundance review: Sienna Miller shines in 'Wander Darkly,' a lyrical take on love and death

‘Wander Darkly’

★★★1/2

Playing in the U.S. Dramatic competition of the 2020 Sundance Film Festival. Running time: 97 minutes.

Screens again: Monday, Jan. 27, 8:30 a.m., Egyptian (Park City); Wednesday, Jan. 29, 6:45 p.m., Broadway 3 (Salt Lake City); Thursday, Jan. 30, 12:15 p.m., Eccles (Park City); Friday, Jan. 31, 9 p.m., PC Library (Park City).

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The old “’til death do us part” thing gets a real workout in writer-director Tara Miele’s “Wander Darkly,” a moving drama about love and loss, death and memory.

Adrienne (Sienna Miller) and Matteo (Diego Luna) are a Los Angeles couple that share a mortgage and, for the last six months, a baby girl, Ellie. They do not share their names on a marriage license, which is a bone of contention, and the subject of an argument the two have while driving home from a party.

Then a pick-up truck slams into them, head on.

Next thing we see, Adrienne is standing in an emergency room, watching her dead body being wheeled into the morgue. What follows is a deep dive into Adrienne’s psyche, memory and glimpses into the future. The only person she talks to is Matteo, who doesn’t believe her when she says she’s dead.

The two bounce around their shared timeline, from first glance to last breath. They relive their first kiss, their magical trip to Mexico, and their qualms about growing together as a couple. At each stop, they talk about their thoughts and feelings about those moments — and how those attitudes may not have matched what they said at the time.

Miele and cinematographer Carolina Costa fashion a visually stunning film that captures the colorful Los Angeles settings and the quicksilver transitions in memory. The storyline of Miele’s script is complex, but the visual cues help carry the viewer over the bumps and twists.

Luna is soulful as the dutiful partner, trying to guide Miller’s Adrienne through her existential doubts as they explore the roots of their love and where things started to go astray. Beth Grant and Brett Rice do solid supporting work as Adrienne’s parents, who have their doubts about Matteo, both before and after the crash.

Miller, though, is the heart and soul of “Wander Darkly,” as Adrienne tries to process the aftermath of the crash, and examine her feelings about Matteo, Ellie, and herself. It’s a restrained, yet powerful performance — one anyone who has been paying attention knew Miller could knock out of the park.