Listen Up Philip
The author truth...
Following in the tradition of both Woody Allen and Wes Anderson, Alex Ross Perry’s third film feels like a marriage between these two greats. Acerbic, biting and utterly hilarious, Listen Up Philip is a younger, snarkier brother to Anderson’s The Royal Tenenbaums – coincidentally, his third movie also – or Allen’s 1997 effort Deconstructing Harry, which dealt with a blocked writer haunted by characters from his past.
Here, Philip ( Jason Schwartzman) is an articulate but insufferably arrogant author. His first book was a critical hit and his anticipated follow-up, Obidant, is on the way; crushingly for Philip, word gets out that The New York Times is about to publish a bad review. Suffocating in the Manhattan heat and in the midst of a strained relationship with his live-in photographer girlfriend, Ashley (Elisabeth Moss), he sees a way out when his literary idol, author Ike Zimmerman ( Jonathan Pryce), offers him some respite at his country retreat.
Philip leaves for the summer, much to Ashley’s chagrin, decamping to Ike’s house where he meets his hero’s moody daughter, Melanie (Krysten Ritter). It’s here that Perry pulls a fascinating switch, refocusing the narrative on Ashley’s post-Philip existence before moving on to Ike and his difficult relationship with Melanie. Philip is returned to, not least when he gets a college lecturing job that he hates, but he’s no longer the central character in his own story.
Narration is provided by an omniscient Eric Bogosian, whose observations about the increasingly isolated Philip knit the film together, and Perry’s meticulously scripted dialogue is a joy. Schwartzman, who plays Philip as if Max Fischer, his try-hard character from Anderson’s Rushmore, grew up to be a real asshole, delivers one of his best performances. He’s ably matched by Pryce, who relishes his role of the older, but not necessarily wiser, man. The result is a dizzying, delicious comedy-of-manners with a bitter aftertaste. THE VERDICT Erudite, accomplished filmmaking from a new voice in cinema well worth listening to. If only all movies could be this well-written. › Certificate 15 Director Alex Ross Perry Starring Jason Schwartzman, Elisabeth Moss, Krysten Ritter, Jonathan Pryce, Joséphine de La Baume, Jess Weixler Screenplay Alex Ross Perry Distributor Eureka Entertainment Running time 109 mins