definition of the word will allow.
His motivations are debatable - is
he hoping to succumb to Nao-
mi’s obvious charms or using her
to test the strength of his resolve
and his relationship with Jess?
Perry doesn’t give us any easy
answers to the questions raised
by his characters’ complexity.
Eschewing the traditional tropes
of the ensemble drama, Perry al-
lows his characters to run away
from him, and he’s commend-
ably uninterested in having
them learn any trite life lessons.
Naomi’s presence doesn’t dam-
age their lives, rather it merely
exposes the fragility they’ve kept
hidden away until her arrival.
“People never make films about
ordinary people who don’t re-
ally do anything,” Naomi moans
to Nick in an early discussion on
her cinematic tastes. Of course,
plenty of filmmakers do exactly
that, but few can make ennui as
enthralling as Perry does here.
The magnum opus of Perry’s
still relatively burgeoning ca-
reer, Golden Exits is a film about
ordinary people who don’t really
do anything, and watching their
inaction is as beguiling as cin-
ema gets. w
Golden Exits
4 ½ stars out of 5
Directed by: Alex Ross Perry
Starring: Emily Browning, Jason
Schwartzman, Chloë Sevigny, Adam
Horowitz, Mary-Louise Parker, Analeigh
Tipton, Lily Rabe, Kate Lyn Sheil
NJ STAGE - ISSUE 44
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