Kelly Macdonald quietly dazzles in Turtletaub, Mann and Moverman's remake, PUZZLE

I was blown away by the Argentine film, Puzzle, written and directed by first-timer by Natalia Smirnoff, when it was first released in the USA back in 2011, and though it never crossed my mind that the film needed remaking in English, now that PUZZLE is here -- directed by Marc Turtletaub with a screenplay by Polly Mann and Oren Moverman -- I must admit that the new version is almost as good -- hell, maybe every bit as good -- as the original.

Mr. Turtletaub, shown at left, is best known as a producer with some major winners under his belt, but he has done quite a fine job in this -- his second full-length directorial stint -- of bringing to life a small-scale tale of a subdued and somewhat cowed housewife named Agnes who discovers that she has a penchant for solving jigsaw puzzles at a very fast pace.

Turtletaub and his writers are helped no end by their leading performer, perhaps the most under-sung top-notch actress working today: Kelly Macdonald (shown below), who is simply so perfect in this role that her every moment resonates, each one bringing us closer to fully understanding this unusual woman, even as she begins to better understand herself and her (so far) unrequited needs.

Agnes is mother/wife to two nearly-grown kids and a kindly-if-old-fashioned husband (the terrifically real and moving David Denman below) who genuinely loves his wife but hasn't a clue to what's going on inside her. One of the great strengths of the movie (as was true of the original version) is that, though its main concern lies with the wife and her growth/change, it is able to view the husband (and to some extent the children) with the kind of care and empathy that has you rooting for them all.

It has been a few years since I've seen the original film, but as I recall the character of our heroine's puzzle partner was a stronger, more complete one in the original. Here, as played as well as the script permits by Irrfan Khan (below, left), that character is reduced somewhat. This matters less than you might expect, however, because the film is so much more focused on Agnes and her family.

Ms Macdonald charts Agnes' inner journey so well and with such specificity that we're with her entirely -- even when, on occasion, she's unfair to those around her. Growth and change come at a price and not always so easily, and the film honors this idea, as well.

Suburban life for a woman who has known only family, friends and church is made unusually clear here; breaking free into new ideas and activities has seldom seemed as invigorating, too. And if you imagine that Puzzle is going to come down to the usual choice by a woman between one man or another, the movie is too genuinely feminist and too concerned with real growth and change to make things that simple.

This is one of the best films of the year -- as was the original in its own year -- and it deserves as wide a viewership as possible. And Ms Macdonald, giving the best performance I've seen all year, deserves an Oscar -- or at very least a nomination.

From Sony Pictures Classics and running 103 minutes, Puzzle, after hitting major cities over the past few weeks, opens here in South Florida this Friday, August 10. In the Miami area, it will play the AMC Aventura 24; in Boca Raton at the Living Room Theaters, Cinemark Palace 20 and the Regal Shadowood 16; at the Cinemark 14 in Boynton Beach; the Cinemark Paradise 24 in Davie; at the Silverspot Cinema, Coconut Creek; at the Movies of Delray; and in Fort Lauderdale at the Classic Gateway 4. Wherever you live across the country, to find a theater near you, click here (then click on GET TICKETS on the right side of your screen).

Natalia Smirnoff's PUZZLE -- a piece of liberating joy from Argentina

The first thing we see in PUZZLE are hands kneading dough. Bread is being made for a big family gathering, turkey roasted and appetizers prepared. The woman at the center of all this, María del Carmen, we slowly discover, has been placed in an extremely put-upon position -- by her husband, children, other relatives and probably even her friends (though we see less of them; this movie is all about family -- and family-liberation). That initial scene -- the preparation and then the meal -- is so skillfully written and directed by Natalia Smirnoff that reams of information are handed to us with literally no exposition. It's all  "show" and no "tell" -- and yet we learn one hell of a lot about the family dynamics, and particularly about the character of María del Carmen.

María is played by the grand and versatile Argentine actress María Onetto, shown below and last seen here as the star of Lucrecia Martel's The Headless Woman.  This is a performance -- were international films seen more widely internation-ally (particularly here in the USA) -- that would win every award in the book. As would the film itself, if the time ever comes when subtlety and gradation are prized above pomposity and overkill. Ms Smirnoff, shown at left, who has worked for more than a decade as a second-unit or assistant director and as a casting director, has clearly learned her lessons and so gets almost everything right in this, her first film.

Smirnoff's main character is often literally surrounded by men (husband, kids, even a "mentor" who shows up later in the movie). Probably via a combination of choice, chance and cultural heritage, María has come to take care of those in her family in such a way that they need do almost nothing for themselves, at least where home and hearth are concerned. When a birthday present proves to be something she enjoys and is actually very good at, her life begins to change slowly and definitively.

For those who saw the recent Queen to Play, this film will ring all kinds of similar bells, content-wise. Both films are about a woman who discovers a gift and an intellectual pursuit/passion that changes her, and by extension those closest to her. Both films are decidedly feminist but neither are in the least anti-male. Yet the films are also very different. As Argentinian as Queen is French (or maybe as Hispanic as the other film is European), in Puzzle, everything from the climate to the location, the fashion to the decor, and the game involved -- chess vs puzzles -- is quite different. You would never mistake one movie for the other nor will you have any trouble, years down the road, remembering each quite fondly.

As much as I loved Queen to Play (and I did), Puzzle is the better film. Richer, full of small but meaningful surprises, and a deep, abiding understanding of and concern for family dynamics and change -- with performances that rise beautifully to every occasion -- this is high art rendered on a small canvas. In addition to Ms Onetto, who is moment-to-moment perfection, Gabriel Goity is masterful as her confused, macho but loving husband, and in the role of mentor is one of Argentina's finest actors Arturo Goetz (above, right), who brings such effortless  intelligence and class to his role that this adds immeasurably to the quiet emotional suspense that the movie builds.

Oh, yes, there is one minor moment that rings false. While toasting, our puzzle players clink glasses and get a full, rich tone from the sound -- dubbed in, I fear -- of the crystal touching. Yet they are holding the bowl of the glass rather than the stem -- and so would never be able to produce such a lovely ringing sound. Ms Onetto's character would not know this, but Goetz's surely would. And, as writer and director, Ms. Smirnoff should. No matter. In the end, Puzzle delights, surprises and moves us in equal proportion. All the burnishing in the world could not make this little gem shine any brighter.

The movie -- via Sundance Selects, 88 minutes, un-rated and in Spanish with English subtitles -- opens Friday, May 27, in New York at the IFC Center and will be available via VOD, beginning today, May 25.