By the Sea (2015)

My Review

“By the Sea” is the story of an American couple who travel to a French seaside resort to work out their problems and marital woes. Director-screenwriter Angelina Jolie Pitt put together this long, drawn out story that drags on and on. Perhaps it was a therapy session for herself and husband/co-star Brad Pitt. Whatever the case, this typical arthouse cinema material is a bore, except maybe for diehard fans of the Pitts, who eventually divorced in 2019.

“By the Sea” was beautifully filmed on the island of Malta, with Pitt and Jolie supported by a largely French cast including Melvil Poupaud, Melanie Laurent, Niels Arestrup, and Richard Bohringer. The film made very little cash at the box office, a flop for producers Angelina Jolie Pitt and Brad Pitt and Universal Pictures. “By the Sea” was the first big screen joint appearance by Pitt and Jolie since “Mr. and Mrs. Smith,” a superior project released back in 2005.