Review of Hello I Must be Going at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival
Melanie Lynsky makes a believable downer but Sundance drama Hello I Must Be Going fails to connect.
Actor and filmmaker Todd Louiso has an eclectic body of directing work with the little-seen dramas Love, Liza and The Marc Pease Experience but he still keeps specislty movie audiences waiting for his standout movie.
Louiso’s Hello I Must Be Going, made with support from the Sundance Institute Feature Film Program, offers a unique female heroine, a middle-aged woman suffering from depression, but fails to deliver on the character’s potential.
A painful divorce has Amy Minsky (Melanie Lynskey) moving back with her parents at age 35. Amy is at her lowest point until she meets 19- year-old Jeremy (Christopher Abbot) and suddenly, thanks to an unorthodox relationship, things are looking up for her.
Louiso acts more often than he directs and while the veteran character actor (High Fidelity) flashes great filmmaking potential he never seems to fully deliver on the promise of his stories.
Actress-turned-screenwriter Sarah Koskoff does a admirable job creating a unique movie heroine; one believably coping with melancholia, but fails to give her story the necessary zest to keep the drama humming.
Granted, Amy is a downer at this particular chapter in her life but Hello I Must Be Going does not need to be a total downer when it comes to storytelling.
While Louiso and his crew fail to deliver dramatic sizzle, they bring a lush feel to every frame.
High marks to editor Tom McArdle for maintaining swift storytelling.
Cinematographer Julie Kirkwood makes beautiful use of the Westport, Connecticut setting.
Just as Louiso has yet to deliver on his directing potential; Lynskey has yet to match her incredible performance in Peter Jackson's Heavenly Creatures.
Her recurring role as Rose on the CBS sitcom Two and a Half Men makes Lynskey a well-known face but she's also committed to independent film with solid supporting roles in Win Win, Leaves of Grass and Away We Go.
Hello I Must Be Going gives Lynskey a well-deserved spotlight and she has great fun with subtle scenes like trying on a t-shirt in a women’s shop. But Koskoff and Louiso squash handcuff Lynskey’s comedic talents but keeping her character too deadpan for her own good. Imagine how much fun Hello I Must Be Going could be if Lynskey let loose.
Blythe Danner delivers the film's biggest laughs as Amy’s unsympathetic mother and Christopher Abbott (Martha Marcy May Marlene) complements Lynskey as her unexpected boyfriend.
Still, just like the film’s heroine, the supporting players also sink under the weight of the solemn movie.
Hello I Must Be Going claims technical polish, a solid cast and some of the most earnest moviemaking you’ll see at this year’s Sundance.
What’s missing is a dollop of human drama needed to connect with audiences.
Director: Todd Louiso
Distributor: Available
Screenwriter: Sarah Koskoff
Producers: Enjoy Your Gum Pictures, A Next Weekend, Skyscraper Films, Momus & Klamm
Cast: Melanie Lynskey, Christopher Abbott John Rubinstein Dan Futterman, Julie White, Blythe Danner
Cinematographer: Julie Kirkwood
Editor: Tom McArdle
Rating: Unrated
Running Time: 108 minutes