Puzzle

Director: Marc Turtlletaub; Cast: Kelly MacDonald, Irrfan Khan, David Denman; 103 min., R (for language)

PUZZLE is a closely observed portrait of Agnes, who has reached her early 40s without ever venturing far from home, family or the tight-knit immigrant community in which she was raised by her widowed father. That begins to change in a quietly dramatic fashion when Agnes receives a jigsaw puzzle as a birthday gift and experiences the heady thrill of not only doing something she enjoys, but being very, very good at it. She goes to New York City, where she partners with a man for a puzzle tournament in Atlantic City. As she experiences independence for the first time, she begins to view her value and the pieces of her own life in a whole new light. “Macdonald has never starred in a film until “Puzzle,” and her delicate but deeply felt performance, along with the work of Irfan Khan make this gentle, thoughtful yet pointed film the undeniable success it is.” —Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times