Listen Up Philip

Listen Up Philip begins with an appealing promise: Alex Ross Perry will treat its comedy framework as a route into character rather than an excuse for noise. The early chemistry between Jason Schwartzman and Elisabeth Moss gives Listen Up Philip an immediate pulse. The story of Listen Up Philip begins from a specific pressure point: When a self obsessed novelist (Jason Schwartzman) has problems with his novel and his girlfriend (Elisabeth Moss), he seeks refuge in his mentor's cottage where the peace and quiet allow him to focus on his favorite subject himself. By the end of its 1h 48m running time, the value of Listen Up Philip rests less on novelty than on the care of its execution.

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Alex Ross Perry shapes Listen Up Philip with an approach that feels careful about tone and generally effective. The best directed passages in Listen Up Philip establish an objective, let the characters respond and then allow the pressure to change naturally. The film delivers more often than it misses in Listen Up Philip, particularly when Alex Ross Perry resists the urge to underline an already clear emotion. My main reservation about Listen Up Philip is that the middle loses a little urgency, a limitation that interrupts rather than defines the experience.

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The craft of Listen Up Philip is defined by performer rhythm, supported by performer rhythm rather than overwhelmed by decoration. Tribeca Films gives Listen Up Philip a production framework in which comic timing built around character can remain connected to story. Made from a United States production context, Listen Up Philip uses setting and design to clarify mood before dialogue has to explain it. The technical finish of Listen Up Philip works because image, sound and editing appear to be serving the same immediate purpose.

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Listen Up Philip is most involving when the screenplay allows Jason Schwartzman to complicate what initially appears to be a story about Elisabeth Moss. That shift gives Jason Schwartzman a more specific problem to carry through Listen Up Philip. Working from material credited to Alex Ross Perry, Listen Up Philip reveals the central character at a measured pace instead of rushing toward its largest turn. The later pressure around an important relationship shows why Listen Up Philip benefits whenever cause and consequence remain visibly connected.

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Beneath its plot, Listen Up Philip is most interested in embarrassment, status and the gap between confidence and reality. That concern becomes visible through Jason Schwartzman, whose choices allow Listen Up Philip to explore an idea without stopping for a speech. Jason Schwartzman gives the themes of Listen Up Philip a concrete dramatic form rather than leaving them abstract. The emotional value of Listen Up Philip grows whenever Alex Ross Perry trusts the audience to connect behaviour with the larger question.

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Jason Schwartzman gives Listen Up Philip its most dependable performance, finding a clear emotional intention beneath the plot. Opposite Jason Schwartzman, Elisabeth Moss brings Listen Up Philip a contrasting pace that prevents the central relationship from feeling flat. Jonathan Pryce widens the ensemble of Listen Up Philip through reactions that suggest a life beyond the immediate scene. Alex Ross Perry serves the cast of Listen Up Philip best when a look or pause is allowed to finish before the story moves on.

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Listen Up Philip ends as a likeable film whose strengths survive its limitations, especially for comedy fans who respond to personality and timing. What remains from Listen Up Philip is the relationship between Jason Schwartzman, performer rhythm and Alex Ross Perry's control of mood. The weakness that the middle loses a little urgency narrows the impact of Listen Up Philip without cancelling its better work. On balance, Listen Up Philip gives its intended viewers a distinctive experience rather than a completely anonymous piece of content.