As so many movies want to be as big as possible, over flowing with bland characters, it’s a slight relied to find something like as low key Person to Person.
Consisting of 3 tangential stories, it comes off as a cross between light Jim Jarmusch and Mike Leigh. This is both a plus and a minus. While the meandering pieces contain interesting reflections on different human connections, it lacks a cohesive whole. Although that could be argued, since examining the mundanity of life is ever changing.
Phil (Michael Cera) is breaking in his newest protege, (Abbi Jacobson) at a middling 4th rate newspaper. Her gig is that of a “runner”, someone who hassles the cops and people connected to which ever story is being covered that day.
Another thread sees Wendy (Tavi Gevinson) and Melanie (Olivia Luccardi), as they play ditch school. Wendy is desperate to spend time with her friend, as she fears losing her to a current boyfriend. Or at the very least senses that her friend will pressure her to change as well. While it won’t necessarily pass the Bechtel test, their bond is the most deeply explored, the plight of teenage girls find themselves. Wendy
It’s interesting that each story features one main strong voice in a sea of numerous characters, but they tend to drown out everyone else. Gevinson gets to be the loudest of them all, but this is fine given her powerful performance. Wendy is having trouble straddling the line between an opinionated loner in search of herself and the average expectations of a high schooler. She waxes on philosophically about breaking away from being “categorized” simply and is upset her friend falls into such basic constructs. Normally an examination would lead to a rote outcome, but here
If Wendy’s loud, abrasiveness and outgoingness is on one spectrum, then Bene is the Yin to her Yang. The focus of the 3rd tangential story, Bene serves also as the heart of the film. He isn’t conventionally attractive, he obsessively searches for a rare record, has a budding relationship, his best friend who is permanently attached to hi’s couch. Not to mention the existential crisis that comes from deciding if a shirt fits his personality. That last bit is the main key to the whimsy Person To Person revels in. Through all journey’s in life, be they happy, sad, full of grown or stunting, our ability to connect and laugh with one another is tantamount.
The people that exist within the city are the beating heart of Person To Person. Are all searching for something. Not every single instance is wrapped up cleanly, but most address the way that each individual is fundamentally broken. Their guts and entrails splayed out for all to see, everyone is forced to decide what they want out of life. At times, the lack of true cohesion threatens to fully derail the movie, but each characters little charms help make up for issues. For Cera’s Phil, when you wake up in the morning, wanting to avoid the daily grind, just bang your head to a little heavy metal in the morning, but even as he’s quick to point out, it isn’t necessarily for everyone.
