There’s likely some truth to Sam’s (played by director Matthew Shear) suggestion to his psychiatrist that his struggles may be tied to intergenerational trauma. The intensity of the anxieties and depressive thoughts that trouble the young New Yorker—as well as the number of medications he depends on to get through the day—seem to confirm it. Dianne (Amanda Peet) is no different; therapy sessions and a formidable mix of medications are part of her daily life too.
In passing remarks, biographical details about relatives, or in Dianne’s holiday reading—the biography of a Holocaust survivor—the Shoah is ever-present. Yet it is not the focus of this film. The story is rooted in the present: a year in which Sam becomes part of Dianne’s family, and their encounter benefits them both in unexpected ways. Sam’s insecurities and neuroses, Dianne’s faltering attempts to keep up with the acting world—the film quietly follows the protagonists, without relying on dramatic plot twists, as they navigate life.
Over the course of the film, we grow fond of them all—and by the end, we can understand Sam, Dianne, her husband, and even her quarrelsome father. In his debut as writer and director, Matthew Shear, who has featured in films by Noah Baumbach, has accomplished something rare in cinema: a truly empathetic film.
Text: Susanne Stern