Los Angeles Times

Genuine, relatable truths

- — Michael Rechtshaff­en

There’s a welcome air of honesty drifting around Kerem Sanga’s “The Young Kieslowski,” a contempora­ry comedy-drama about a onenight-stand with unexpected ramificati­ons.

When Brian Kieslowski (Ryan Malgarini), a geeky virgin of a Caltech student, hooks up with the pretty, similarly unsullied Leslie (Haley Lu Richardson) at a party, their brief liaison turns out to have twin repercussi­ons, and Leslie’s desire to see her pregnancy through sends Brian into a deep panic.

Although the film could have lived very nicely without the flippant narration and Richardson’s character as written would have benefited from a little more sympathy, the engaging cast, which also includes nice work from Melora Walters, Joshua Malina and James Le Gros as their concerned parents, keep it engaging.

The subject matter may not cover virgin territory, but Sanga, who took home the Audience Award at last year’s Los Angeles Film Festival, could certainly do worse than being called a baby Jason Reitman or Cameron Crowe.

Given that his own young mom and dad found themselves with twins conceived out of wedlock, it’s not surprising that the film taps into some genuine, relatable truths lurking beneath all that try-too-hard quirkiness.

“The Young Kieslowski.” MPAA rating: R for brief strong language, sexuality and drug use. Running time: 1 hour, 35 minutes. Playing: Vista Theatre, Los Angeles. Also on video on demand.

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