‘I Don’t Understand You’ Review: Andrew Rannells and Nick Kroll Try to Save Their Marriage and Their Lives in Nightmare Vacation | SXSW 2024

Something important to notice when examining a couple’s relationship is not how long they’ve been together, but how they communicate with one another. Sure, there are other important factors to consider about the two, such as where they met and how many shared interests they have, but perhaps none as crucial as how the couple feels about having children. Bringing these two qualities together, effective (mis)communication and child-rearing dreams, David Joseph Craig and Brian Crano’s I Don’t Understand You finds its central couple fighting through a nightmare vacation in Italy while attempting to distract themselves from the possibility they might finally get to adopt. 

Cole (Andrew Rannells, Girls) and Dom (Nick Kroll, Big Mouth) are coming up on their tenth anniversary, a trip to Italy planned in celebration of the last decade spent together. The film begins with a simple showcase of the two’s relationship through an adoption video to be sent to an expectant mother trying to find parents for her child, the two differing on how to approach the questions they’re answering, an obvious anxiety permeating through the room as they edit themselves and perfect their responses. Moving quickly, I Don’t Understand You puts Cole and Dom on their plane to Italy to begin their anniversary, a drop of blood landing on Cole’s shirt from the overhead luggage bin on the plane. An omen? A day after having lunch with a friend of Dom’s father, the two venture to a secluded restaurant to celebrate themselves and relax, the latter never happening as the vacation turns into terrible situations that the men can’t seem to make better. When they get to the restaurant, a farmhouse in the middle of nowhere, things go from bad to worse as the Italian language barrier prevents the men from being able to communicate with the locals, leading to big laughs and wild misunderstandings. 

Andrew Rannells and Nick Kroll have incredible chemistry, not only able to portray a couple with argumentative tendencies due to the tension from dealing with adoption fraud but also showing a tenderness for one another that feels authentic. Slight touches and glances between the two serve as a showcase of the length of time they’ve been together, small things that exist between two people after years with one another. There’s an understanding between them that they need a good vacation because the past several years have been difficult; Cole and Dom aren’t out of touch with each other, perhaps just slightly disconnected after a traumatic experience with adoption fraud that left their relationship frazzled after the disappointment of being scammed out of a dream. The nightmare of losing out on a child caused a chasm between them. It’s a relationship that feels grounded, lived-in, and imperfect in ways that create an atmosphere of comfort when following the men on their misadventure through a rural Italian area. Films have a tendency to fall victim to attempting to create an intimacy between a central relationship that robs the characters of an organic dialogue, but I Don’t Understand You understands Cole and Dom’s past with ease. Even when no one around them is able to understand what they’re saying, the two are able to communicate more effectively as the film pushes through each situation, allowing the two men to see the other in a fresh way that could possibly renew their relationship and the bond they’ve always had.

While miscommunication and misunderstandings have a possibility of growing tiresome quickly when used frequently, David Joseph Craig and Brian Crano’s screenplay offers hilarious moments that build upon one another. Each miscommunication leads to disaster, which then pushes the situation into another moment of miscommunication that leads to another disaster, a vicious cycle that the couple keep themselves engaged in as their hellacious night continues as violence starts pushing the film into a violent horror-comedy. The body count rises as Cole and Dom intensely attempt to fix their mistakes, their paranoia rising with each passing fatal error. Small moments like bumping into an elderly woman turn into massive issues for the men when she tumbles down the stairs. The violence is quick, emphasizing the manicism of the situation the two are in. The language barrier preventing them from understanding anyone around them, they’re left to their own devices to figure out what everyone surrounding them is talking about. As more characters are slowly introduced into the insanity of their situation, the violence escalates as the communication errors become more confusing. There are times when it seems the two men might be expecting things to be more difficult than reality, misunderstanding sentences in ways that possibly would not work without Kroll and Rannell’s incredible comedic timing. Morgan Spector (The Gilded Age) even makes an appearance as a AAA agent trying to help the men with their car that’s stuck in the words.

What begins as a road trip to rural Italy for an exclusive dinner at one of the top restaurants in the world forms into a vacation from hell with hilarious dialogue and two fantastic lead performances. Nick Kroll brings magic and hilarity to his role as a husband who supports his partner above all; Andrew Rannells has a sincerity that allows the story to feel grounded. 

They portray two men that, like many couples, have suffered trauma together that caused a rift between them, even if they weren’t aware of it at the time. Through a journey that sees death all around the men, they’re able to find a renewed sense of purpose and life as they grow closer to one another. The film doesn’t attempt to be something it isn’t, solely focusing on the couple as they navigate one of the worst vacations in film history. I Don’t Understand You finds its leading men finally finding the words to say to each other without exploiting their pain, crafting a queer comedy with a sincerity that pushes the film to great heights. 

Grade: B+

This review is from the 2024 SXSW Film Festival. I Don’t Understand You does not have U.S. distribution at this time.