Though it is not without its flaws, Obvious Child may end up being one of the best films of 2014. It is both a funny, heartwarming story pulsating with the spirit of indie filmmaking as well as a legitimate “issues movie” dealing (very well) with one of the most divisive topics in our society. Writer/director Gillian Robespierre, who has adapted her own 2009 short film of the same name, handles the heavier themes with great maturity but doesn’t shy away from injecting scatological humor that wouldn’t be out of place in a middle school boys’ bathroom.
Donna Stern (Jenny Slate) is facing the quarter life crises that many of us have experience at one time or another. In the span of only a few days, she gets dumped by her boyfriend, who has been cheating on her with a close friend, and is told that the bookstore in which she works is closing, leaving her without a source of income. Her only true joy in life is performing her stand-up act for the miniscule audiences that attend her regular performances, but after a train crash of a performance inspired by her many problems, even that seems at best to have a tenuous future.
Into her life walks good guy Max (Jake Lacy), a somewhat stiff corporate Manhattan guy who doesn’t quite fit into Donna’s Brooklyn/Williamsburg bohemian lifestyle. Regardless, the two spend the night together and a few weeks later, Donna discovers that she is pregnant. She decides to get an abortion but struggles with whether to tell Max. Making matters worse, Max is genuinely interested in having a relationship with Donna, another subject about which Donna is unable to make a decision. Instead, she counts down the days until the procedure, leaning on her best friend Nellie (Gaby Hoffman) for support and guidance.
Slate has gotten a great deal of attention for her performance in Obvious Child and it is well deserved. Slate’s work in the film is truly inspired and one of the best comedic performances of the last several years. Donna suffers from the same arrested development we’ve seen in male characters time and time again. With Slate, though, we don’t see the character as unwilling to grow up but instead unsure of how to go about doing it. Slate has an excellent sense of comedic timing and a wonderful range of facial expressions which convey more than her words can. The phrase “star-making performance” is far too overused, but here it is perfectly accurate to describe Slate’s work.
Robespierre is likely to be a strong filmmaking voice in the next few years. Less Lena Dunham and more early Ed Burns, Robespierre makes New York City as much of a character as Donna, Max or Nellie. The Manhattan versus Brooklyn dynamic reflects the socioeconomic differences of the two worlds as well as the divergent approaches to life. Max lives on the island and works in an office setting. Donna lives in Brooklyn in an apartment she can barely afford and works as a part-time bookseller. Max has his life pretty well set up; Donna is less sure of where she is going on any given night let alone for the rest of her life. Here, Robespierre establishes the two worlds without judging either. Can these two people make it work? Who knows? But maybe they’ll try.
The script tends to meander and, even at a brisk 85 minutes, does feel overlong. Robespierre understands character development and is great at writing dialogue, but there is barely enough actual plot to fill a feature film. Without question Robespierre will improve as her career progresses. It is clear that she is a talented filmmaker and will likely be a “director to watch” in the coming years.
Grade: B+
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