Winter's cold is kicking in. That can only mean a future of listening to men with itchy beards chatting incessantly, curling up with a serious book and watching kind of depressing art house films. With the Nickelodeon's newest get, you can enjoy all three experiences at once.
“Listen up Philip” is Alex Ross Perry's latest indie flick concerning the life of a young author and his small but angsty inner-circle of friends, lovers and mentors. Philip Lewis Friedman, portrayed by Jason Schwartzman , just released his second novel and is now beginning to purposely isolate himself from everyone he feels abused his friendship. The only relationships he allows are the dicey one with his girlfriend Ashley, played by Elisabeth Moss, and one with mentor-author/newfound friend Ike Zimmerman, played by actor Jonathan Pryce.
The narrator is heavily involved in this film as an authorial voice. Voiced by Eric Bogosian, he describes the inner thoughts of the characters when the scenes themselves fail to fully capture the tone. Given any other context, this would seem like a lazy way to execute the performance. But in a movie about authors, it's only fitting that the story is told just as much with third-person words as it is with moving pictures and dialogue.
As for point of view, the narrator slowly rotates on who he chooses to represent, much like that of complex novels. He starts with Friedman as if his character will be the focus of the film, but then continues to segue through characters, pivoting on key conversations between boyfriends, girlfriends, fathers, daughters, students and teachers. The film tries to be all-encompassing but leaves the viewer wanting more.
In a word, this film is tense. The characters are all honest with each other in a manner that is at first refreshing then proves exhausting. Every line of script comes off as a confession.
This is watching a movie about people that are tired of each other. Everyone is too proud to shy away from hearing the perception of their own faults, and they are too fed up to resist pointing out flaws in others.
But it's not just another art film about the nothingness of the lives of creative people living in New York City. It does have the melodrama, as Friedman whines about not knowing who he is for much of the duration. But this film is really about leaving nothing unsaid and the complications that arise from telling it like it is. The male characters are terribly alone in the film and the female characters only feel alone when they are forced to be around those same men and endure tireless verbal abuse.
The film isn't all grey, but that is attributable almost entirely to Schwartzman. This is, without a doubt, his most serious role, but he just can't help from being goofy at some points. And it's those points that serve as a relief for the rest of the film, revealing that no matter how much of a whiny brat you can be, you can still make the people around you smile if you just make an effort.
Overall, “Listen Up Philip” tries to hurt, but it still has many a good message nestled within.