Greta Gerwig has locked down the market for a certain kind of bubbly yet concerned character so tight that even when she’s playing someone who doesn’t quite fit the mould, it’s hard to see beyond her type.
Here, she’s a harried New York school administrator with a fondness – more like compulsion – to control the lives of those around her.
She’s decided to move onto the next stage in her life: first she lines up a sperm donor (Travis Fimmel) who she gently rebuffs when he’s after something more, then woo’s “bad boy” teacher John Harding (Ethan Hawke) out of a loveless marriage to chilly academic Georgette (Julianne Moore).
Jump ahead two years and her relationship is fizzling out (despite their child together); can scheming Maggie palm John back onto his ex? The cast is charming even when the film lacks the wacky energy to make its premise fully work.
The film is screening at the Pivotonian Cinema in Geelong. Visit the website for more information.
