A mumblecore-style comedy drama about dealing with the success of your peers while you struggle on. This is a distinctly thirtysomething dilemma, where your youth is already lagging behind you but you haven't quite given up on trying to attain the ideal life you want for yourself.
As with any kind of mumblecore movie - where the focus is on characters interacting in seemingly improvised scenes and creating natural conversational rhythms - it has a triviality to the whole experience as it tries to mine something profound from relatively insubstantial material. Yet somehow, 'Don't Think Twice' does resonate beyond its small cinematic ambitions because all the characters of the improv acting troupe are likable people and feel real in all of their insecurities and eccentricities, while also maintaining a funny and believable group dynamic. This is a character piece made up of selected moments with a thin but defined plot taking us through the various assortment of situations.
Writer/director Mike Birbiglia has clearly allowed for his own cast to improvise through many of the scenes. Usually, films that are made up of scenes where actors go off-book to create their own moments end up feel meandering and indulgent - yes Paul Feig and Judd Apatow I'm talking about you two cufflinks - but due to the subject matter at play, it not only makes complete sense for this particular film but it also helps to make Birbiglia's disjointed drop-in/drop-out narrative-style all the more involving.
It's a must-see for anyone who works in the arts, in whatever capacity, but it might also appeal to anyone who has ever seen fracture lines appear in their friendship groups as a result of growing up and growing apart. There's an insightful honesty at play here and when it's not plucking on those painful chords of truth, it's just a charming and absorbing story about friendship, failure and success.
As with any kind of mumblecore movie - where the focus is on characters interacting in seemingly improvised scenes and creating natural conversational rhythms - it has a triviality to the whole experience as it tries to mine something profound from relatively insubstantial material. Yet somehow, 'Don't Think Twice' does resonate beyond its small cinematic ambitions because all the characters of the improv acting troupe are likable people and feel real in all of their insecurities and eccentricities, while also maintaining a funny and believable group dynamic. This is a character piece made up of selected moments with a thin but defined plot taking us through the various assortment of situations.
Writer/director Mike Birbiglia has clearly allowed for his own cast to improvise through many of the scenes. Usually, films that are made up of scenes where actors go off-book to create their own moments end up feel meandering and indulgent - yes Paul Feig and Judd Apatow I'm talking about you two cufflinks - but due to the subject matter at play, it not only makes complete sense for this particular film but it also helps to make Birbiglia's disjointed drop-in/drop-out narrative-style all the more involving.
It's a must-see for anyone who works in the arts, in whatever capacity, but it might also appeal to anyone who has ever seen fracture lines appear in their friendship groups as a result of growing up and growing apart. There's an insightful honesty at play here and when it's not plucking on those painful chords of truth, it's just a charming and absorbing story about friendship, failure and success.