The Private Lives of Pippa Lee (2009)
By: Rebecca Miller (director, screenplay, novel)
Starring: Robin Wright Penn, Alan Arkin, Blake Lively, Winona Ryder, Maria Bello, Keanu Reeves, Robin Weigert, Julianne Moore, Monica Belluci
After her much older husband forces a move to a suburban retirement community, Pippa Lee engages in a period of reflection and finds herself heading toward a quiet nervous breakdown.
The Private Lives of Pippa Lee is a difficult film to nail down, and not in an entirely good way. There’s an overall ethereal tone to it that’s incredibly compelling, but the more subtle shifts of drama and satire seem to get away from its director, Rebecca Miller. This probably make it sound as if I didn’t enjoy the film, but I very much did. It fails to have clarity of vision, though, which makes it merely good instead of great.
One thing (And it’s a big thing) that Pippa Lee has going for it is a superb cast, all giving practically flawless performances. Robin Wright Penn is predictably amazing in the lead, and I will take this opportunity to say how much I love her in absolutely everything. She has such a tremendous talent for portraying her characters subtly, which is so rare. Even Keanu Reeves gives a stellar performance here, and Winona Ryder does a fabulous job as the histrionic mess of a best friend. More’s the pity that the role didn’t fit better within the constructs of the film.
Overall, Pippa Lee is a genuinely good film, a watchable film that just misses the mark. I really appreciated the strength of the female characters even though I couldn’t quite relate to most of them. The irreverence is applied so thickly that the movie’s in danger of feeling a bit precious, but I enjoyed it and could certainly watch it again.
