Two Films Shoot Past Realism To Weirder Territory

Amid the slapstick comedies, sequels and superhero movies that have come to define summer moviegoing, two films opening today center on disturbed and disturbing romantic ties. Ruby Sparks and Killer Joe aren’t fantasy or horror pictures, but they’re within screaming distance — close enough to remind you how much deeper artists go when they barrel past realism into weirder areas of the psyche.

Ruby Sparks is a parable about men and what they project on women. It’s written by actress Zoe Kazan, and stars her and her boyfriend, Paul Dano. He plays Calvin, a novelist who had a generation-defining, Catcher in the Rye-type hit at 19 and has barely produced anything in the decade since. Despite his fame, he’s unable to meet that special girl.

He dreams of her, though. She comes out of the sunlight in a short, swishy dress — and when he types his dream on his old typewriter, something strange happens. His dog shows up carrying a woman’s shoe. Toiletries appear in his bathroom. Finally comes the woman, whom he names Ruby Sparks.