Best Performance for Michael Caine Nominee
Harris (Sir Michael Caine) is thrust into a book tour by his publisher Lucy, who needs a bestseller to save her company. When his drunken outburst at an event goes viral, book sales take off. Lucy and Harris grow closer, but he soon reveals a truth that will change her world forever.
Review:
Washed-up, reclusive writer Harris Shaw (Michael Caine) reluctantly gives young New York publisher Lucy Stanbridge (Aubrey Plaza) his latest manuscript to help prevent her publishing house from being sold. The pair embark on a book tour and when Harris – often drunk and disrespectful – becomes a social media phenomenon, the book starts flying off the shelves. While on the road, the curmudgeonly author starts mellowing around Lucy, recognising in her an instinctually good editor and revealing something from his past that also affects her.
Actor-turned-director Lina Roessler weaves themes of loss, loyalty and isolation into a buddy comedy, with poignant results amidst lighter moments. Harris becomes the pivot around which Lucy’s view of the world is challenged. Graduating from terrific indie offerings such as Ingrid Goes West, Plaza shows bite and appeal as an independent professional on whose shoulders her company’s future rests.
Yet the film belongs to Caine, whose portrayal of a man in his later years is both hilarious and touching. He provides emotional ballast by adding gravitas to his backstory, showing a vulnerable side unseen – perhaps – since The Cider House Rules. Shaw the writer and Caine the actor, two men with a rich history.
Mickey La Rosa
