People, Places, Things

Will draws graphic novels and teaches at a school in New York. At his daughters' birthday party he finds his partner with someone else. A year later he is a man who has his twins at weekends, lives in a messy flat and can do nothing in class but talk about his own life. The subject is not the break-up but the daily mechanics of single fatherhood. Will's problem is practical rather than emotional: between getting two children ready at once, teaching and building a life of his own, there is no time. The form is calm and wry; the scenes are short and the jokes come from situation. The narration cuts into drawing from time to time, so what is in Will's head appears as comic panels. Written and directed by Jim Strouse, it is a small-scale film that premiered at Sundance in 2015. Jemaine Clement had been known mostly for comedy; this is one of his first attempts at a dramatic lead. Regina Hall plays the mother of one of his students and Stephanie Allynne his ex. Who it is for: viewers who like small American independent comedy. Who it is not for: anyone expecting a structural surprise; the film proceeds quietly and contains no large turning point.