THE STORY – A law school dropout becomes a babysitter for his psychiatrist’s three granddaughters. He soon falls for their mother, a once-promising actress who’s stuck in a rocky marriage.
THE CAST – Amanda Peet, Matthew Shear, Alessandro Nivola, Judd Hirsch, Bob Balaban, Andrea Martin, Zosia Mamet, Sheng Wang, Jessica Harper & Holland Taylor
THE TEAM – Matthew Shear (Director/Writer)
THE RUNNING TIME – 91 Minutes
Before making his directorial and screenwriting debut feature, “Fantasy Life,” Matthew Shear appeared in several of Noah Baumbach’s films (“While We’re Young,” “Mistress America,” “The Meyerowitz Stories,” “Marriage Story”). It appears that Shear learned a thing or two about making a tragicomic, character-driven story that draws on everyday relationship dynamics, albeit not quite as emotionally impactful. In “Fantasy Life,” Shear mines through the anxieties of unfulfilled dreams and mental health struggles. His main characters, a law school dropout and an aspiring actress, are running on empty. They feel stuck on their respective paths and uncertain of which route to follow next. But life has a way of taking us on unexpected turns beyond our control. When the two characters meet and discover they’re both in a stagnant phase, their shared vulnerability leads to self-reflection and a newfound purpose. “Fantasy Life” serves as a gentle reminder that everyone we cross paths with, however brief the encounter, has the potential to change where we are headed.
When we first meet Sam (Matthew Shear), a 30-something paralegal living in New York, he has just been let go by his firm and is in a downward spiral. Shortly after having a panic attack, Sam visits his longtime psychiatrist, Fred (Judd Hirsch), and stumbles into a job opportunity to babysit Fred’s three granddaughters. The gig becomes complicated when Sam falls for the girls’ mother, Dianne (Amanda Peet), a wealthy, unemployed actress navigating a stalled Hollywood career and suffering from depression. She’s not the most present person at home, which concerns her husband, David (Alessandro Nivola), an ex-rock musician whose upcoming tour will have him on the road for months. There’s an underlying double standard here that the film ultimately explores in a standout scene in which David, defending himself, compares his tour to an acting trip Dianne had taken years ago, well before marriage and kids.
Sam seems to let Dianne feel seen and heard in ways her husband cannot, deepening the cracks in her marriage. Out of shared isolation, she forms a connection with Sam, and the two stumble into an awkwardly endearing safe space together. This is the space where “Fantasy Life” unfolds as a sincere, albeit slight character study. Shear observes two people at a crossroads in their respective lives, and prioritizes the small but powerful interactions that help pull them out of the deep end. In one charming scene, Sam spends some time watching a movie with Dianne before signing off on babysitting duties for the night. He mentions that “Battlestar Galactica” helped him through his first depression, and would be a fun series to watch together. It’s a sweet little moment that speaks to their slow-build connection.
Even with Sam and Dianne not knowing each other very well (nor very long), there is an immediate sense of familiarity between them, thanks to an emotionally grounded screenplay and understated performances. Shear and Peet have wonderful chemistry, making their characters’ shorthand feel lived-in and intuitive. When Dianne calls Sam to film an audition that requires face tape, after discovering what “turkey neck” means, it feels natural that he is the first person she reaches out to. She appreciates his attentiveness and finds him to be a reliable source of comfort in vulnerable moments. It’s a treat to watch them navigate dark humor and poignancy together. Peet, in particular, delivers an incredibly contemplative performance, one that clues us into a quietly dramatic shift within Dianne regarding how she views her privilege. Peet takes us on a compelling journey and reaches a knockout monologue in the final act.
Shear also gives us a thoughtful, de-stigmatized depiction of living with high-functioning depression. He approaches the subject without sensationalizing characters’ mental health for dramatic effect, nor simplifying their experiences to the extremities of their illnesses. Shear sets this grounded precedent very early on; one of the first moments we see is Sam having a panic attack at a bookstore. Sam’s collapse is conveyed in a subdued, compassionate manner that immediately humanizes his experience and does not define him solely by his anxiety.
Sometimes, the subdued direction can be emotionally distancing, reducing moments of great character study into vague observations. Shear’s lighthearted approach to the story doesn’t always serve its more poignant themes. In one particularly tense dinner scene, centered on Dianne and David’s marital conflict, the emotionality falls flat considering what’s at stake. Additionally, the film has an incredible ensemble cast of character actors who aren’t given much material to work with. However, the very presence of familiar favorites (Judd Hirsch, Bob Balaban, Andrea Martin, Holland Taylor) brings instant ease and authenticity to the story. Andrea Martin, who plays Fred’s wife Helen, has an amusing bit about encouraging patients to throw out paper cups by getting cone-shaped ones instead of flat-bottomed ones, and still finding crumpled up cones everywhere.
With a film called “Fantasy Life,” one might expect it to contain a romanticized version of reality, where the characters’ conflicts are magically solved, and their journeys are wrapped in a neat bow. Endearingly, Shear’s version is messier and far more grounded. While the characters live extremely privileged lifestyles and aren’t quite operating in the real world, the film simultaneously touches on the compelling subject matter of personal disillusionment and its impact on mental health struggles. Overall, the narrative trajectory builds towards an underwhelming end, but as a first-time director and screenwriter, Shear proves to be a promising talent on the rise.
