'We Need To Talk' - Review

Nuria (Michelle Jenner) is in love with Jorge (Hugo Silva), a dashing young man with an entrepreneurial spirit. They get married, and wanting to impress her parents, Patricia (Verónique Forqué) and Miguel (Óscar Ladoire), he persuades them to invest in a property in an uninhabited part of the country. He later persuades them, along with his friend Lucas (Ernesto Sevilla), to buy worthless shares, and this generally destroys their lives, causing them to lose everything and separate. He also destroys his relationship with Nuria.

Many years later, Nuria’s life is better. She is with a new boyfriend, Victor (Ilay Kuralovic) and they are celebrating their first year anniversary together. Victor proposes, and she accepts. She realises that she is still married to Jorge, and tells Victor that she has to contact him. It has been two years since they split up.

Jorge lives in a small apartment with Lucas and is unemployed. They make money by using one of the bedrooms for holiday lets. When Nuria rings, and tells Jorge she needs to talk to him, he is convinced it is bad news. Lucas says he cannot know that, but Jorge is certain that he is right. Even so, he wants to make a good impression when he sees her, and so decides that he wants to wear his favourite shirt.

Lucas tells him the shirt is drying on the balcony, as he borrowed it. Jorge goes to retrieve the shirt from the washing line. The line has fallen, and become stuck. When he tugs at it, trying to free it, he falls over the balcony, and ends up in hospital.

Lucas calls Nuria and tells her that Jorge jumped off the balcony. She goes to see him in hospital, believing that he jumped because he anticipated bad news. Afraid that asking for a divorce might cause him to spiral, she decides that she must cheer him up before getting a divorce.

Jorge feels guilty about destroying the lives of Nuria’s parents, and losing all their money. Nuria lies, telling him that her parents are doing well and have forgiven him. She invites Jorge to dinner with her parents. She then has to persuade her mother, who is angry at Miguel for losing everything, to agree to the dinner.

At the dinner, Miguel, elaborating on his lie of being an executive, tells Jorge to drop his resumé to him at the office. The next day, Jorge turns up at the office looking for Miguel. No one at the offices knows him. He calls Nuria. Nuria calls her father. Miguel, helped by his friend and colleague, Yoli (Belén Cuesta) gets an empty office and pretends to be an executive.

Nuria goes to see Jorge at his home, and catches him with a scarf around his neck. She mistakenly believes he is trying to commit suicide again. Jorge is too embarrassed to tell her the truth. They go out and talk, reminiscing about their relationship. Jorge thinks that she wants to get back together with him, but Nuria knocks him back. Still worried about him, she goes to her father again, and tells him he needs to interview Jorge. Yoli says she will interview him. Yoli is taken by Jorge’s passion, and tells him he has the job, forgetting that no job exists.

Nuria, getting to her wit's end, speaks to her mother. Her mother suggests she act like a bitch. Nuria goes to dinner with Jorge, and acts as obnoxious as possible, berating the waiter and food, and then running from the restaurant without paying. When they stop at a bar, Jorge says he likes how blunt she is. He tells her they need to start with a clean slate, and tells her they need to divorce.

After running from the bar, they kiss, and a confused Nuria goes home. Nuria’s mother thinks it odd that Jorge has agreed to divorce. When Jorge calls Miguel and says he is at the beach house, Miguel tells him they are on their way there. Miguel, Patricia, and Nuria head down to the beach house. Whilst out on a boat, Jorge tells Miguel he wants to stay with Nuria. Victor turns up at the beach house, and pretends to be a neighbour who is locked out. Meanwhile,

Miguel is trying to get back together with Patricia, but does not realise that she is angry about him forgetting their anniversary. Nuria tells her mother she is going to tell Jorge that she is getting married at dinner.

At the dinner, Jorge gives the ring he was going to give to Nuria, to Miguel to save his relationship with Patricia. Nuria realises she still loves Jorge, and tells him the truth. She then runs off, hoping he will run after her. She stops at the beach, and begins to cry. Jorge, who knows a short cut, finds her there. The end.

Written by Diego San José along with David Serrano, who also directs, We Need To Talk or Tenemos Que Hablar, to give it its Spanish title, is a delightful farce that bumps along nicely over ninety minutes.

Michelle Jenner’s Nuria is engaging, coming up with the most elaborate and ridiculous plan to soften the blow of wanting a divorce from the equally affable Hugo Silva’s Jorge. Ernesto Sevilla’s Lucas is the hapless best friend, whose well-intentioned interference only makes the situation worse.

All the performances are wonderful, with the actors bringing to life a lively and intelligent script. Lucas’ story about the heightened sensations felt whilst masturbating, and simultaneously being strangled, seems indulgent until its relevance is revealed later in the film.

Probably the best-known actor in the film, Belén Cuesta, is fabulous in her small, but pivotal role as the romantic Yoli, a work colleague of Miguel, whose downturn in fortune, after listening to Jorge’s advice, has him working as an office cleaner.

Kuralovic as Victor has the most thankless role, an unwitting spouse who watches as the love of his life falls for her husband again, powerless to do anything to prevent it. The comedic timing of all the actors is perfection, all nailing their roles brilliantly.

The film is beautifully shot with a pleasant musical score accompanying the action. Tenemos Que Hablar is far better than its five-point nine score on IMDB denotes. Tenemos Que Hablar is definitely worth your time. An absolute joy.