DVD Mini Review - The Private Lives of Pippa Lee

Rebecca Miller makes quirky little films that are not for mainstream audiences. I liked her previous film The Ballad of Jack and Rose which boasted a terrific performance by her husband Daniel Day-Lewis. But it was not a film that took off. The same is true of her most recent film The Private Lives of Pippa Lee. Robin Wright (then know as Penn) gives a great performance but the film is not for everyone.

Pippa is married to Herb (Alan Arkin) who is thirty years her senior. They move to a retirement complex in Connecticut. Pippa seems a bit out of place there but she tries to make the best of it. But she is having a very quiet nervous breakdown. She and Herb spend a bit of time with their friends Sam (Mike Binder) and Sandra (Winona Ryder). But things aren't as they appear to be. In addition, a strange man named Chris (Keanu Reeves) moves next door with his mother.

During the film we see flashbacks of the young Pippa (Blake Lively) with her mother Suky (the marvelous Maria Bello). This gives us some understanding of why Pippa is the way she is. We also find out how she met Herb.

Miller adapted the script from her novel of the same name. In addition to the above mentioned actors there are cameos by Julianne Moore and Monica Bellucci. It is an interesting film and I quite liked it. But it certainly is not heavy on the plot and, as I said before, it will be too quirky for many.