"GOOD POSTURE" // TRIBECA 2019 REVIEW

BY MATEO MORENO

Dolly Wells, fresh off of her co-starring role on Doll & Em (which she created with co-star Emily Mortimer) has branched out and created the understated GOOD POSTURE, a debut that's both warm and frustrating at the same time. Grace Van Patten stars as Lillian, a young girl who has just broken up with her boyfriend and has to find a new place to live. Her father (Norbert Leo Butz) has found her a place, by calling in a favor from two of his friends. Don (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) and his wife Julia (Emily Mortimer) are friends of her father and are happy to lend their spare room for Lilian. Well, at least Don is. His wife, Julia is Julie Price, an esteemed novelist who has basically bunkered herself within the walls of her house. Julia doesn’t seem to care for Lillian, especially after Don leaves following a heated fight.

Julia communicates with Julia by leaving notes for her to find, and letting Lillian know what she can do to pay her back for the free room and board. Lillian’s father is more or less a ghost in her life; he’s in Paris with his much younger girlfriend and instead of reaching out sends money. All is going fairly well until Lillian runs into her ex’s new girlfriend and to impress them, says she’s doing a documentary on the notoriously shielded novelist Julia Price. And so, begins her journey of figuring out how to win over Julia, and how to make a documentary, since she really has no idea where to start.

Van Patten has a winning presence. She seems to radiate on screen, even when her character is not much more than a self-entitled, bored rich kid. Each time you feel bad for her, she does something terrible, like uses Julia’s toothbrush and not only is that not a big deal for her, she never apologizes. She’s a brat who doesn’t want to grow up, and in the end, kind of never does. Mortimer only appears in a few scenes, but she is a strong presence; always felt, even when she’s not seen. And when the duo does share a moment together on screen, their chemistry is great. And although the lack of growth in Lillian’s character may feel real, it’s also not that interesting and she makes it hard for you to root for her. Dolly Wells directs the film with a laid back, soothing style and much of it does work (a side character named George, played by Timm Sharp, is great), but in the end, the main character is too unlikable for me to care, at all really, with what happens to her. A story about Lillian’s life would have been far more fascinating.

VERDICT: SKIP IT

GRADE: C

WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY Dolly Wells STARRING Grace Van Patten, Emily Mortimer, Timm Sharp, John Early, Gary Richardson, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Norbert Leo Butz. Playing as part of the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival. For more information: http://www.tribecafilm.com/filmguide/good-posture-2019