MISTRESS AMERICA

2015

Channel 4, 12.35am

Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig co-wrote this hyperventilating comedydrama which lands right on the nose of Baumbach’s familiar pet-theme: betrayal.

A college freshman (Lola Kirke) battles loneliness in New York by befriending her future stepsister, played by Gerwig. They are equal part admiring and jealous of each other, leading to a competitive, and ultimately doomed, relationship. The leads are excellent, but the film is too self-conscious.