P.S. (film)
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''P.S.'' is a 2004 American
drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...
film directed by
Dylan Kidd Dylan Kidd (born August 30, 1969) is an American film director, producer and screenwriter best known for directing and writing the 2002 American film '' Roger Dodger''. Career Kidd achieved critical acclaim through his debut film ''Roger Dodger' ...
. The screenplay by Kidd and
Helen Schulman Helen Schulman (born April 1961) is an American novelist, short story, non-fiction, and screenwriter. Her fifth novel, ''This Beautiful Life'', was an international bestseller, and was chosen in the 100 Notable Books of 2011 by the New York Times ...
is based on Schulman's 2001 novel ''p.s.'' The film stars
Laura Linney Laura Leggett Linney (born February 5, 1964) is an American actress. Having studied acting at Juilliard School (1986-1990), she became known for her complex and multilayered performances on stage and screen. She has received various accolades, ...
and
Topher Grace Christopher John Grace ( ; born July 12, 1978) is an American actor. He is known for portraying Eric Forman in the Fox sitcom ''That '70s Show'', Eddie Brock / Venom in Sam Raimi's film ''Spider-Man 3'', Pete Monash in ''Win a Date with Tad Ham ...
.


Plot summary

Thirty-nine-year old divorcée Louise Harrington works in the admissions office at
Columbia University School of the Arts The Columbia University School of the Arts, (also known as School of the Arts or SoA) is the fine arts graduate school of Columbia University in Morningside Heights, New York. It offers Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degrees in Film, Visual Arts, ...
. She is unnerved when she receives an application from F. Scott Feinstadt, the same name of her high school sweetheart who was killed in a car crash, and calls the student to arrange an interview. His appearance, mannerisms, and painting style closely resemble those of her former love, and she begins to suspect the young artist may be the
reincarnation Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. Resurrection is a ...
of her old flame. Hours after meeting, the two embark upon an affair. Also complicating Louise's life are her relationship with her ex-husband Peter, who confesses he is learning to cope with a
sex addiction According to proponents of the concept, sexual addiction, also known as sex addiction, is a state characterized by compulsive participation or engagement in sexual activity, particularly sexual intercourse, despite negative consequences. The con ...
that, unknown to her, plagued their marriage; her ne'er-do-well brother Sammy, who is favored by their mother Ellie despite his shortcomings; and her best friend Missy, who stole the original Scott from Louise before his death and seems intent on doing the same with the contemporary version.


Principal cast


Production

On the DVD release of the film, director Dylan Kidd explains how cuts in the film changed the character of Louise. He opted to remove a scene depicting F. Scott living at home with his mother because he felt it bestowed upon him a lack of maturity he didn't want him to display. In that same scene, however, Louise confessed to being only an administrative assistant responsible for mailing catalogues and arranging campus tours rather than the director of admissions she had led the young man to believe she was. Deleting the scene necessitated making other cuts for the sake of continuity. On the DVD, Kidd also includes a deleted scene set in a cafe where Louise and F. Scott became better acquainted following their initial meeting and preceding their first sexual encounter in her apartment. Kidd had excised it due to time constraints but admits it made Louise look like less of a predator than she did without it. The soundtrack includes the songs "These Flowers" and "When the Day Is Short," written and performed by
Martha Wainwright Martha Wainwright (born May 8, 1976) is a Canadian-American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress. She has released seven critically-acclaimed studio albums. Wainwright is the daughter of musicians Kate McGarrigle and Loudon Wainwright III a ...
.


Release

The film premiered at the
Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival he ...
. It was shown at the
Telluride Film Festival The Telluride Film Festival (TFF) is a film festival held annually in Telluride, Colorado during Labor Day weekend (the first Monday in September). The 49th edition took place on September 2 -6, 2022. History First held on 30 August 1974, th ...
,
Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...
,
Austin Film Festival Austin Film Festival (AFF), founded in 1994, is an organization in Austin, Texas, that focuses on writers’ creative contributions to film. Initially, AFF was called the Austin Heart of Film Screenwriters Conference and functioned to launch the ...
, and
Edmonton International Film Festival The Edmonton International Film Festival (EIFF) is a nine-day film festival in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, hosted at Landmark Cinemas at Edmonton City Centre. It is supported by and partnered with Telefilm Canada, Government of Alberta, Alberta Fo ...
before being given a limited theatrical release in the US, where it grossed $180,503.


Critical reception

On review aggregate website
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, ''P.S.'' has an approval rating of 54% based on 81 reviews. The site’s critics consensus reads, "Laura Linney is as watchable as ever, but the melancholy ''P.S.'' never finds its footing.” On
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, the film has a score of 55 out of 100 based on 28 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
Manohla Dargis Manohla June Dargis () is an American film critic. She is one of the chief film critics for ''The New York Times''. She is a five-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. Career Before being a film critic for ''The New York Times'', ...
of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' wrote the film shows a "contempt for its central character in specific and for women of a certain age in general" and that it lacks "the energy of Mr. Kidd's first feature." While Dargis noted Linney "easily negotiates the story's emotional and narrative switchbacks, sliding from fury to hurt like rain on a window, she can't fashion a living, breathing, believable human being from such a shabbily patched-together conceit." Carla Meyer of the ''
San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...
'' said, "Filmmaker Dylan Kidd assayed male-arrested development quite brilliantly in 2002's '' Roger Dodger'', and at some moments, his follow-up film hints at a scabrous female reinterpretation. But Kidd and co-writer Helen Schulman...smooth every edge, and ''P.S.'' goes disappointingly soft despite two dynamite lead performances." in a more positive review,
Peter Travers Peter Joseph Travers (born ) is an American film critic, journalist, and television presenter. He reviews films for ABC News and previously served as a movie critic for ''People'' and ''Rolling Stone''. Travers also hosts the film interview prog ...
of ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' awarded the film three out of a possible four stars. He commented Kidd "delivers a sexy, funny surprise package that resonates with long-buried emotions. Grace, away from the sitcom slick of ''
That '70s Show ''That '70s Show'' is an American television Period piece, period teen sitcom that aired on Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox from August 23, 1998, to May 18, 2006. The series focuses on the lives of a group of six teenage friends living in the ficti ...
'', shows killer charm and rare sensitivity. But t... is Linney's show, and she makes it hilarious and haunting."
Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
of ''
Ebert and Roeper ''At the Movies'' (originally ''Siskel & Ebert & the Movies'', and later ''At the Movies with Ebert and Roeper'') is an American movie review television program produced by Disney–ABC Domestic Television in which two film critics share the ...
'' also awarded the film three out of four stars and compared the film to ''
Birth Birth is the act or process of bearing or bringing forth offspring, also referred to in technical contexts as parturition. In mammals, the process is initiated by hormones which cause the muscular walls of the uterus to contract, expelling the f ...
'', also released in 2004. Ebert wrote, "Both films are fascinating because they require us to see the younger character through two sets of eyes – our own, which witness an attractive woman drawn to a younger male, and the women's, which see a lost love in a new container."


Awards and nominations

Laura Linney was nominated for the Satellite Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Drama, and she shared Best Actress honors with
Emmanuelle Devos Emmanuelle Devos (born 10 May 1964) is a French actress. She is the daughter of actress Marie Henriau. She won the César Award for Best Actress in 2002 for her performance in ''Sur mes lèvres'', directed by Jacques Audiard. She has also been ...
at the
Mar del Plata Film Festival The Mar del Plata International Film Festival ( es, Festival Internacional de Cine de Mar del Plata) is an international film festival that takes place every November in the city of Mar del Plata, Argentina. It is the only competitive feature fest ...
, where the film was nominated for Best Picture. Topher Grace won the
National Board of Review of Motion Pictures The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures is a non-profit organization of New York City area film enthusiasts. Its awards, which are announced in early December, are considered an early harbinger of the film awards season that culminat ...
Award for Best Breakthrough Performance by an Actor for this film and '' In Good Company''. The film was also nominated for the Artios Award from the
Casting Society of America The Casting Society, formerly known as Casting Society of America (CSA), was founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1982 as a Professional association, professional society of about 1,200 Casting (performing arts), casting directors and associate ...
for Best Casting in an Independent Feature Film.


See also

*
List of American films of 2004 This is a list of American films that were released in 2004 in film, 2004. Box office The highest-grossing American films released in 2004, by domestic box office gross revenue, are as follows: January–March April–June July– ...


References


External links

* * *{{mojo title, id=ps, title=P.S. 2004 films 2004 drama films Films based on American novels Films set in New York City Films shot in New York City Films set in universities and colleges Films set in Columbia University 2004 independent films 2000s English-language films American romantic drama films American fantasy drama films 2000s American films es:P.S.