''A Short History of Decay'' is a 2013 American comedy-drama film written and directed by

Michael Maren Michael Maren (born November 15, 1955) is an American journalist, screenwriter, and director. He spent seventeen years as a foreign correspondent based in Africa, writing for magazines like,''The Village Voice'', ''Newsweek'', ''The New Republ ...

. It stars

Bryan Greenberg Bryan Greenberg (born May 24, 1978) is an American actor and singer, known for his starring role as Ben Epstein in the HBO original series ''How to Make It in America'' as well as a recurring role as Jake Jagielski in the WB series '' One Tree ...

Linda Lavin Linda Lavin (born October 15, 1937) is an American actress and singer. She is known for playing the title character in the sitcom ''Alice'' and for her stage performances, both on and off-Broadway. After acting as a child, Lavin joined the C ...

Harris Yulin Harris Yulin (born November 5, 1937) is an American actor who has appeared in over a hundred film and television series roles, such as '' Scarface'' (1983), ''Ghostbusters II'' (1989), '' Clear and Present Danger'' (1994), '' Looking for Richard' ...

Emmanuelle Chriqui Emmanuelle Sophie Anne Chriqui ( ; born 10 December 1975) is a Canadian actress. She is known for her performance on HBO's '' Entourage'' as Sloan McQuewick, Claire Bonner in '' Snow Day'', Dalia in '' You Don't Mess with the Zohan'', Lorelei ...

, Benjamin King and

Kathleen Rose Perkins Kathleen Rose Perkins (born November 15, 1974) is an American actress. Life and career Perkins was born in New Baltimore, Michigan, the daughter of Leonard and Donna Perkins. She graduated from Anchor Bay High School (1992) and enrolled in We ...

. Though its title is taken from the work of philosophy by

Emil Cioran Emil Mihai Cioran (, ; 8 April 1911 – 20 June 1995) was a Romanian philosopher, aphorist and essayist, who published works in both Romanian and French. His work has been noted for its pervasive philosophical pessimism, style, and aphorisms. ...

, it is not an adaptation of the book. The film was shot in October and November 2012 in

Wilmington, North Carolina Wilmington is a port city in and the county seat of New Hanover County in coastal southeastern North Carolina, United States. With a population of 115,451 at the 2020 census, it is the eighth most populous city in the state. Wilmington is t ...

Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina Wrightsville Beach is a town in New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. Wrightsville Beach is just east of Wilmington and is part of the Wilmington Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,477 at the 2010 census. The town c ...

, and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. It premiered at the Hamptons International Film Festival on October 12, 2013 and it opened theatrically at the

Village East Cinema Village East by Angelika (originally the Louis N. Jaffe Art Theatre, also Village East, and formerly known by several other names) is a movie theater at 189 Second Avenue, on the corner with 12th Street, in the East Village of Manhattan in ...

on May 16, 2014.

Plot

The film is a comedy about a failed Brooklyn writer, Nathan Fisher, who visits his ailing parents in Florida. His mother has Alzheimer's, his father has recently had a stroke, and his girlfriend has recently broken up with him.

Cast

as Nathan Fisher *

as Sandy Fisher *

as Bob Fisher *

as Erika Bryce *

as Shelly * Benjamin King as Jack Fisher * Rebecca Dayan as Alex * Joanna Manning as Molly

Coffeehouse scene

On November 19, 2012, Maren, with cinematographer Nancy Schreiber, shot the final scenes of the film at Kos Koffe, a coffee shop in Park Slope, Brooklyn. In the scene, Greenberg's Nathan Fisher walks into the shop intending to work on his writing to win his girlfriend back. In an elaborate sight gag, Maren brought 43 New York Area writers to fill every seat in the coffee shop. Nathan Fisher looks at them with the feeling that he doesn't belong in their company. The writers included

Jennifer Egan Jennifer Egan is an American novelist and short-story writer. Egan's novel '' A Visit from the Goon Squad'' won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction. As of February 28, 2018, she is the Preside ...

Michael Cunningham Michael Cunningham (born November 6, 1952) is an American novelist and screenwriter. He is best known for his 1998 novel '' The Hours'', which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the PEN/Faulkner Award in 1999. Cunningham is a senior lectur ...

, Philip Gourevich,

Kurt Andersen Kurt Andersen (born August 22, 1954) is an American writer and was the host of the Peabody-winning public radio program ''Studio 360'', a production of Public Radio International, ''Slate'', and WNYC. Early life and education Andersen was bo ...

Gary Shteyngart Gary Shteyngart (; born July 5, 1972) is a Soviet-born American writer. He is the author of five novels (including ''Absurdistan'' and '' Super Sad True Love Story'') and a memoir. Much of his work is satirical. Early life Born Igor Semyonovich ...

Darin Strauss Darin Strauss is a best-selling American writer whose work has earned a number of awards, including, among numerous others, a Guggenheim Fellowship and the National Book Critics Circle Award. Strauss's 2011 book '' Half a Life,'' won the 2011 ...

, Jane Green, Jean Hanff Korelitz and

Nick Flynn Nick Flynn (born January 26, 1960) is an American writer, playwright, and poet. His writing is characterized by lyric, distilled moments, which blur the boundaries of various genres. Many of his books are structured using a collage technique, w ...

.New York Magazine
/ref>

References

External links

* * https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/a_short_history_of_decay
Paladin Picks up ‘A Short History of Decay’ for Theatrical Release

Edelstein Edelstein is the German word for "gemstone". Edelstein is also a surname of German origin which means "noble stone" or in its literal sense "precious stone". Surname: * People with this surname include: ** Arnold Edelstein, Austrian-American carto ...

on ''A Short History of Decay'': The Little That Happens Is More Than Enough in This Beautiful Tale : New York Magazine 2013 films 2013 black comedy films 2013 comedy-drama films American black comedy films American comedy-drama films American films about Alzheimer's disease Films about writers Films set in Florida Films set in New York City Films shot in New York (state) Films shot in New York City Films shot in North Carolina 2010s English-language films 2010s American films {{2010s-comedy-film-stub