“Moore is a pro at comedy for the same reason she is so adept at drama: she’s utterly fearless.” - Nigel M Smith, The Guardian
A wise, witty exploration of the lengths we go to when trying to fill life's seemingly empty spaces, the latest from gifted American writer-director Rebecca Miller (Personal Velocity, The Private Lives of Pippa Lee) features sparkling performances from Greta Gerwig, Ethan Hawke, and Julianne Moore.
Maggie (Gerwig) wants a baby, but she's never sustained a relationship longer than six months. She solicits a sperm donation from a Brooklyn pickle entrepreneur — no strings attached — but has hardly even begun the artificial-insemination process when she consummates a budding romance with John (Hawke), an unhappily married academic hailed as "the bad boy of ficto-critical anthropology."
Maggie's rejuvenating enthusiasm lures John away from his wife, domineering Danish critical theorist Georgette Norgaard (Moore), and the two settle down and have a daughter together. Everything has gone according to Maggie's plan — so why isn't she happy? And what sort of meddlesome scheme will she concoct next?
Based on an original story by Karen Rinaldi, Maggie's Plan is both an affectionate send-up of highbrow academic culture and a treatise on modern self-realization. Miller exhibits her characteristic sensitivity to female experience, but with a playfulness given freer rein than ever before in her work.
Cameron Bailey
Toronto International Film Festival
With special guests Rebecca Miller
