Listen Up Philip **** (2014, Jason Schwartzman, Elisabeth Moss, Jonathan Pryce, Krysten Ritter) – Movie Review

Jason Schwartzman triumphs over a difficult-to-play, unsympathetic role as the angry, arrogant, conceited writer Philip, awaiting the publication of his second novel. His relationship with his photographer girlfriend Ashley (Elisabeth Moss) is deteriorating, and he refuses to promote his novel.

Then Philip meets his idol, older, very successful writer Ike Zimmerman (Jonathan Pryce), who befriends him and offers him his isolated summer home as a refuge for peace and quiet. And, prompted by the equally conceited Ike, Philip reluctantly takes on a teaching job, where he meets student Joséphine de La Baume. Both of these things end his thing with Ashley as he gets to know Ike’s spikey daughter Melanie (Krysten Ritter).

There’s hardly a sympathetic character in this commendable American indie comedy drama, but writer-director Alex Ross Perry gets us involved in their stories, and produces a lot of laughs, some of them big ones, as well as a lot of entertaining cynicism, in the 108 minutes running time. The film is Schwartzman’s triumph, but Pryce is also particularly effective, giving his best performance for ages and ages with a decent-sounding American accent too.

© Derek Winnert 2015 Movie Review

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