This New York-set indie is the kind of awkwardly endearing story that rings true
The new indie dramedy Person to Person has no real probing or provocative ideology to it, nor does it attempt to break new filmmaking ground on a technical level. The film offers up a collection of character archetypes and employs a solid effort to go beyond any of those types and uncover what is underneath. There are a number of recognizable traits to be found in all of the characters which populate Person to Person, each of whom use said traits as shields of sorts; suits of armor with which to stay guarded and protected from the outside world. How effective the film is at this attempt doesn’t really matter. This is simply the kind of cinematic experience which exists purely as a slice of life piece that’s engaging, soulful and funny without needing to be anything else.
Taking place in the space of a single day in New York City, Person to Person follows the lives of a number of individuals as they deal with the various conflicting and oftentimes humorous situations the big apple throws their way. Aspiring journalist Claire (Abbi Jacobson) has begun her first day on the job by shadowing the more seasoned Phil (Michael Cera) as they try to report on a possible homicide. Meanwhile, angst-ridden teen Wendy (Tavi Jevenson) tries to come to grips with the source of her frustrations, namely the world around her, and record collector has his hands full with a depressed best friend Buster (George Sample III) and tracking down the guy who scammed him into buying a seemingly rare LP.
What stands out almost immediately about Person to Person is the specific look and texture that has been given to the film. Shot in the purest of indie visuals, there’s a realist feel to the movie’s cinematography which gives it so much when it comes to Person to Person’s sense of place. Everything we see on the screen looks and feels both genuine and organic; from the city streets to the living rooms, there is nothing really false or phony about the world that the characters and the audience find themselves in. As a result of this, there’s a real feel and appreciation for the day-to-day New York existence as seen from multiple perspectives, which continuously comes across. In spite of the multiple perspectives, there isn’t a whole lot of backstory here, which is incredibly refreshing. Instead, the audience is dropped smack dab into these people’s lives and struggles for a finite time before leaving them for good. Because of all this, the film could be considered, for lack of a better term, retro, but as Person to Person feels like a 70s character dramedy thanks to its easygoing and unassuming feel as well as its appreciation of the fragility of urban life, such a moniker fits well.
While there are moments, more than enough, actually, featuring the characters within Person to Person dealing with the problems that plague them, which range from misplaced love, to trying to find the right career, it should be noted just how refreshingly funny of a film this is. The comedy in Person to Person works on every level it attempts to function on, oftentimes relying on the dialogue between individuals to score laughs. “I detest the way you detest people,” proclaims Wendy’s best friend Melanie (Olivia Duccardi) “I know; and I love you for that,” Wendy honestly replies. Another scene featuring Claire failing to get information on the story she’s reporting on from a local clocksmith (Philip Baker Hall) seems to be going nowhere when he turns away from her and resumes his work. “You’ve stopped listening to me,” she asks. “Oh no, no…I’m just waiting for you to leave,” he calmly answers back. Sometimes, the dialogue is more upfront such as the instance when a widow (Michaela Watkins), suspected of killing the victim in question, begins to tear up in front of Claire. “I’m not crying, my eyes are moist,” she insists. “I’m too emotionally detached from life to cry,” she says with a poised smile.
Person to Person does more than just give its characters funny things to say; it makes them funny by painting them as realistically flawed and quirky. It’s hard not to find humor in a record collector who goes around asking everyone, from a barista to the record seller scamming him, whether they like his new shirt. There’s also a lot to laugh at when it comes to a mild-mannered journalist who indulges in heavy metal music and a girl who insists she isn’t a lesbian despite having only slept with other girls. Person to Person knows there is great comedy to be found in the awkwardness of quirky people and the situations they find themselves in, such as Bene chasing the record-selling scammer via bicycle. The heart of the movie’s comedy lies in the awkwardness of being human, which results in both an individual’s inability to control such behavior and especially in the quickness of city people to open up and relate to one another in unexpected ways.
On a performance level, every actor does right with his or her character, bringing out the best in each other along the way and illustrating the kind of effective dynamics that should exist between scene partners. However it’s Watkins, Hall and especially Jacobson who prove to be the standouts among the cast. Jacobson in particular manages to be the most in tune with her character’s anxieties and aimlessness, making her presence in the more comedic moments all the more hilarious due to her ineptness at being able to function in such situations.
So many character dramedies set in New York are bound to contain Woody Allen-like aspirations in terms of characters and predicaments, whether they mean to or not. Person to Person is certainly no exception with its set-up of different interwoven vignettes featuring silently desperate characters at the center of each one. In keeping with the Allen blueprint, each person within the film is struggling with his or her existential crisis. The film’s strength however is in its ability to find that oh so tricky balance between charm and melancholy, which writer/director Dustin Guy Defa truly has. With a premise such as this, and characters such as these, Person to Person can’t be called an original film, but it is every inch a human one, wonderfully validating the notion that stories this human are indeed timeless.
