The Private Lives of Pippa Lee
(2009)
Not to be uncharitable, but one wonders how much of a free-pass
Rebecca Miller gets on account of her family credentials (Arthur Miller as a
father, Daniel Day Lewis as a husband). It’s not that there’s anything
particularly bad about her work, but
there’s nothing hugely compelling about it either. She assembles a fine cast
for Pippa Lee, but it’s never clear
what gripped her about the story, which she adapted from her own novel. One
might argue that this reflects the dreamy dissonance of the titular character,
but I’m less convinced; as many of Miller’s choices seem missteps as they do
successes.
Pippa Lee (Robin Wright), dutiful wife of much older publisher
Herb (Alan Arkin), finds herself undergoing a restrained nervous breakdown when
they move from Manhattan to a Connecticut retirement community. Flashbacks to
Pippa’s early life show her struggle with her amphetamine-addicted mother
(Maria Bello), her brief stay with an aunt (Deadwood’s Robin Weigert) and her
girlfriend (Julianne Moore) before her first encounter with Herb (at which
point she’s a bit of a space case). In the present, she finds her relationship
with Herb increasingly strained, and learns that she is having somnambulant
episodes. She also forms a tentative friendship with a younger neighbour Chris
(Keanu Reeves).
This is one of those low-budget melodramas where you’re unsure
if it retained your interest because of the starry supporting turns, rather
than any distinctive qualities it possesses in its own right. Wright is superb;
she underplays and does great work suggesting an interior world that is
gradually becoming less and less familiar. Arkin is a consummate scene-stealer,
so it’s a compliment to say she holds her own. He makes this patriarch figure
likeable in spite of his flaws. Winona Ryder’s supporting turn as a hugely
self-involved friend of the couple is hilarious (and a good remind of the
actress’ comic chops) while Keanu is in “decent Keanu supporting turn” mode
(see Thumbsucker) than his variable leading man duties (also of note, he’s
playing a decade younger than he is, and thus significantly junior to Wright,
whom he is two years older than). Some of the most affecting scenes are between
the two of them. Monica Bellucci has highly memorable cameo.
Most surprising is Blake Lively as the young Pippa, since she my
impression of her from the likes of Green Lantern and Savages wasn’t a positive
one. She convincingly portrays Pippa’s vulnerability, and the ingénue quality
that attracted Herb to her in the first place. Maria Bello’s performance as her
deranged mother is intense enough as it is, so Miller’s choices of jump cuts to
underline her fractured state is unnecessary and obvious. That’s not to say
some of her stylistic choices are strong ones; she shoots the scenes of Pippa’s
altered state of consciousness with appropriate subjectivity, which makes (for
example) the scene where she visits the convenience store carry all-the-more
impact. But she doesn’t seem to know when restraint would be advisable, perhaps
as a consequence of having originated the material. Many of the transitions
between time frames are overly self-conscious and seem to be shouting “Look at
me!” as much as the star casting. Particularly ill-advised is an animated
sequence that very nearly pushes the film into the territory of a clueless
director trying anything that comes to mind.
In the end, Pippa Lee
feels similar to many a mildly-diverting-but-quickly-forgettable indie flick.
Any impact relates to the memorable casting rather than resonance held by the
material.
***