The Films of Rebecca Miller

Angela

Personal Velocity: Three Portraits

The Ballad of Jack and Rose

The Private Lives of Pippa Lee

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Maggie's Plan (May 30/16)

Written and directed by Rebecca Miller, Maggie's Plan follows the title character (Greta Gerwig) as she meets and falls for a married man (Ethan Hawke's John) just as she's decided to have a baby on her own. Miller takes an oddly (and distractingly) stilted approach to Karen Rinaldi's original story, as the narrative is overflowing with annoyingly pompous figures that bear little resemblance to actual human beings - with, especially, a grating turn from Julianne Moore as John's wife exemplifying Miller's penchant for haughty protagonists. (Moore seems to be playing a slightly more down-to-earth version of her larger-than-life Big Lebowski character here.) The artificial atmosphere receives a bit of a respite as Miller begins infusing the proceedings with an actual plot, with Maggie's decision to take a proactive role in improving her life paving the way for a midsection that actually possesses some momentum (although, naturally, even this stretch manages to wear out its welcome soon enough). Gerwig's typically, frustratingly off-kilter turn as the central character ultimately exacerbates the Maggie's Plan's less-than-compelling vibe, as it is, virtually from start to finish, impossible to work up any real interest in or enthusiasm for her various exploits - with the viewer's inability to wholeheartedly root for Maggie's success ultimately confirming the movie's failure. (Bill Hader, cast as an extremely pragmatic ex-boyfriend of Maggie's, stands as an all-too-rare highlight within the proceedings.)