Written by Erin Krochmalny
The story “Sell By” opens as two couples are sitting down for a double date to celebrate the anniversary of central characters Adam and Marklin. Then, the film expands to highlight a challenging time in Adam and Marklin’s relationship while also portraying the struggles of their friends in their own relationships. The film is an exceptional piece that examines the nature of romance through these individuals and their experiences. When the relationship becomes a struggle, has it reached its expiration date? Or is it time to renew?
As they cuddle on a couch after getting home from couple’s therapy, Marklin said to Adam. “Maybe it’s time.”
Today, many relationships go down the drain because of rough patches, and couples can’t see a point in continuing. They want the honeymoon periods to last indefinitely, or they pick the partner who brings down their worth. Dead ends like this became the case for several of the characters in the film. For Cammy, she was dating a man who didn’t tell her he was homeless until the double date. She kept seeing him. After a while she let him move in with her, but he never did anything to bring them on an equal footing. She always cooked – only one recipe as he wanted it – and he was always there. He didn’t feel the need to find a job. Even after she told him to get out, he coaxed her to let him stay one more night and she let him. It took her a while to accept that she hadn’t found a perfect match.
Maybe it’s not always that relationships themselves expire completely, but the moments within relationships that come to the end. Like the honeymoon period or a rough patch. We see mostly the instances of the rough patch between Adam and Marklin. Adam loses faith of Marklin’s fidelity because he’s not as successful in business, and feels he’s letting Marklin down. It’s not until near the end that we see all that they had lost, all the fun they had and only small moments of these were shown. Including, the moment when they were racing on bikes after a therapy session. It was a saddening to see all the echoes of sparks gone by. There was more than one wet eye in the audience during the screening.
Their calamity moment came when Adam learned the secret Marklin was keeping and it wasn’t what he expected. They broke up, and tried to move on. But, unlike Cammy’s relationship, their relationship had a deeper connection that caused the couple to decided to renew their relationship. Many relationships are like theirs. They had a genuine attachment that can be cultivated through hard work, but can still fall apart. It leaves them wondering if they should fix what they had, part ways, or start all over again. These decisions are hard to make and can lead to throwing in the towel. In Adam and Marklin’s case, they decided to renew, ending the film on a note of hope.
