On paper, a movie about the complications that arise when the marriage between a professor of ficto-critical anthropology and a critical theorist falls apart thanks to an affair doesn’t sound breezy or even fun. But in the hands of director Rebecca Miller ("The Ballad Of Jack And Rose," "The Private Lives Of Pippa Lee"), it’s sweet, hilarious, and even insightful, and the first trailer for "Maggie’s Plan" hits all those notes.
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Starring Greta Gerwig, Ethan Hawke, Julianne Moore, Bill Hader, and Maya Rudolph, the film follows a young woman whose dalliance with a married professor turns into something much more complicated that she could’ve predicated, particularly when the feelings of all involved begin to change. Here’s the official synopsis:
In Rebecca Miller’s witty modern romantic comedy MAGGIE’S PLAN, Greta Gerwig portrays Maggie Hardin, a vibrant and practical thirty-something New Yorker working in education, who without success in finding love, decides now is the time to have a child on her own. But when she meets John Harding (Ethan Hawke), an anthropology professor and struggling novelist, Maggie falls in love for the first time, and adjusts her plans for motherhood. Complicating matters, John is in an unhappy marriage with Georgette Harding (Julianne Moore), an ambitious academic who is driven by her work. With some help from Maggie’s eccentric and hilarious best friends, married couple Tony (Bill Hader) and Felicia (Maya Rudolph), Maggie sets in motion a new plan that intertwines their lives and connects them in surprising and humorous ways. Maggie learns that sometimes destiny should be left to its own devices. MAGGIE’S PLAN is a sweet, sophisticated and funny exploration of the unexpected complexities of modern romance, mixing heart and humor in a story of the delightful variability of relationships over the course of time.
This was one of the best movies I saw at TIFF last year (I called it "heartbreaking and heartwarming"), and you can see for yourself when the film opens on May 20th.