The Intervention Movie Jessie & Sarah Couple Review

🎭 Can You Intervene in Love?

🎥 Film Overview

🎬 Title: The Intervention (2016)
🌍 Country: 🇺🇸 USA
🎞️ Genre: Drama / Comedy / Relationship Psychology
🗓️ Production & Release: Burn Later Productions
⏳ Runtime: 90 minutes
📢 Director: Clea DuVall
🖋️ Screenplay: Clea DuVall, Mary Laws (co-writers)
📺 Platform: Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, and other major streaming platforms

👩‍💼 Cast: Clea DuVall – Jessie
Natasha Lyonne – Sarah

🧩 Deep Dive into the Story (Spoilers)

🏡 Stagnation, Insecurity, and the Test of Cohabitation

Jessie and Sarah are a lesbian couple who have been together for three years. Within the film, their relationship faces several realistic challenges:

• Commitment Issues: Sarah wants to move in together and take their relationship to the next level, while Jessie (DuVall), an independent career woman, shows anxiety toward cohabitation and a reluctance to settle down. Sarah feels that Jessie isn’t fully committed, fueling underlying tension between them.

• Staleness and Boredom: They’re a long-term couple who have entered a phase of comfort and stability. Although they haven’t lost love for each other, things have become routine and dull. The film presents the realistic dilemma of relationship stagnation rather than explosive romance.

• Instability: Jessie’s hesitation toward cohabitation intensifies Sarah’s insecurities, leading to petty arguments and even tension in their intimate life. The intervention of other couples and a subtle flirtation from another guest toward Jessie further put their trust and commitment to the test.

🌪️ The Unique Meaning of Jessie and Sarah’s Relationship: “Queer Normalization”

What makes Jessie and Sarah’s relationship in The Intervention significant is that it avoids the usual queer-film tropes of “coming out,” “prejudice,” or “social struggle.”

• Normalization of Queer Relationships: Director Clea DuVall stated that her goal was not to make a film about being gay, but rather to depict a couple who just happen to be gay. Jessie and Sarah face issues like commitment, boredom, and insecurity—challenges that are universal to all relationships, regardless of gender or orientation. This integration into the broader human experience helps normalize queer relationships in cinema.

• “Megan and Graham” as Adults: Many critics have pointed out that Natasha Lyonne and Clea DuVall’s characters echo their iconic roles as Megan and Graham from the cult classic But I’m a Cheerleader (1999). Fifteen years later, these same actresses now portray a grown-up version of that love—two women navigating adult dilemmas like stability, commitment, and reality. This offers a delightful meta-layer for fans familiar with their earlier collaboration.

📜 Acting & Chemistry: Authentic Conflict and Resolution

As longtime friends, Clea DuVall and Natasha Lyonne bring natural chemistry and emotional depth to their roles as Jessie and Sarah, portraying a deeply realistic couple.

• Authentic Arguments: Their on-screen fights feel painfully real—filled with cutting honesty yet underscored by lingering affection. Lyonne captures Sarah’s anxious humor and vulnerability, while DuVall embodies Jessie’s independence and fear of commitment with remarkable subtlety.

• Resolution: Like the other couples in the film, Jessie and Sarah face turmoil but eventually learn to confront their issues directly. They come to understand that “love doesn’t conquer all,” but that mutual awareness and maturity can sustain a relationship. Their ending isn’t an easy fix but a genuine, emotionally satisfying reconciliation—a rare portrayal of growth and emotional realism in queer storytelling.

As one of the central relationships in DuVall’s directorial debut, Jessie and Sarah represent a vital step in depicting queer relationships not as anomalies but as part of the broader emotional landscape of adulthood—honest, flawed, and profoundly human.

🎯 Personal Rating

💕 Love Scene Intensity: ♥
⭐ Overall Rating: ★★★