Jason Schwartzman and Carol Kane are a sweet, funny, awkward pair in 'Between the Temples'

Nathan Silver's "Between the Temples" is a dramatic, comedic look into the complexities surrounding religion, belief and how to rebuild your life and find meaningful connections.

Silver creates a timeless piece of cinema that is set in the modern age and harkens back to the movies of the '70s and '80s with its dulled color grading, slightly fuzzy camera clarity and stylistically as a whole — especially the plot itself, which has a very "Harold and Maude" feel.

We follow Ben (the always charismatic Jason Schwartzman, even when he's not supposed to come off that way) who is a cantor — a person who leads the congregation in singing, sometimes prayer. His life is a complete mess.

What is 'Between the Temples' about?

The last year of Ben Gottlieb's life has been nothing short of terrible. After his wife Ruth dies, Ben is back home with his mothers, sleeping in the basement with a door that doesn't work and working as a cantor who is losing his voice, as well as a teacher at his temple.

Meanwhile, his mothers are trying to set him up with almost any woman available, even going so far as to make a secret profile for him on Jewish dating app J-Date and setting him up with Rabbi Bruce's daughter, Gabby.

And all Ben wants to do is lie in the middle of the street and yell at semi trucks to run him over.

However, when Ben runs into his grade school music teacher, Carla O'Conner, played with so much energy and charm by Carol Kane ("The Princess Bride," "Hester Street"), while drinking mudslides at a local bar, his world slowly begins to turn upside down.

Carla shows up to Ben's bar/bat mitzvah preparation class asking if she could have a bat mitzvah since her parents were "Jewish Communists" and they never allowed her to have one at age 13. Ben reluctantly agrees, and the duo grows closer as the Hebrew lessons continue.

'Nathan Silver's 'Between the Temples' is about more than religion

Silver's storytelling ability is almost like magic. He manages to take a plot of two opposites coming together to learn from one another and breathe fresh life into it.

First of all, Ben and Carla's chemistry is a perfect blend of sweet and incredibly awkward, which carries this film all the way to the end.

Despite having a somewhat typical main plot, "Between the Temples" is one part learning to have faith in tough times and two parts watching two bumbling, fumbling characters somehow learn a lot about themselves, each other and that life is truly complicated.

And that's OK. Because being alive is clumsy and weird and unpredictable.

Silver doesn't shy away from sticking the camera so far in the faces of his actors you can almost feel their breath through the screen. And he does it not in the beautiful, heartfelt moments that you would expect. He does it at the most awkward, uncomfortable moments for his characters.

And it works.

You can feel every bit of anxiety Ben feels throughout the film, and you can't help but smile every time Carla and her whacky antics and spacey demeanor come on screen. The movie itself stumbles through the plot just as the characters do, leaving you feeling like it could be over any minute, but keeping you engaged throughout, wanting — wishing — for a happy end for Ben and Carla.

In the end, "Between the Temples" is a sweet story filled with plenty of genuine laughs, awkward moments and snapshots of the way life can affect how you continue in the face of uncertainty, the beliefs you hold onto and the company you keep.

'Between the Temples' 4 stars

Great ★★★★★ Good ★★★★

Fair ★★★ Bad ★★ Bomb ★

Director: Nathan Silver.

Cast: Jason Schwartzman, Carol Kane.

Rating: R for language and some sexual references.

How to watch: In theaters Friday, August 23.

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Meredith G. White covers entertainment, art and culture for The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com. She writes the latest news about video games, television and best things to do in metro Phoenix.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Nathan Silver's 'Between the Temples' is about more than religion