Listen Up Philip

This acerbic comedy is built around one of the most abrasive lead characters in recent memory. Philip Lewis Friedman (Jason Schwartzman) is a joyless, insensitive, narcissistic writer whose second novel is about to be published. Unable to work in the city, he decides to abandon his girlfriend (Elisabeth Moss) temporarily and spend the summer at a remote country house, where a respected author (Jonathan Pryce) is only too happy to act as his mentor. Some viewers will probably find it hard to get past Philip's prickliness, but beyond it is a witty, well-observed film about ego, relationships and social isolation. Accompanied by novelistic narration (voiced by Eric Bogosian), it is intelligently written, impressively performed and, while it won't satisfy everyone, a more than creditable addition to cult indie writer/director Alex Ross Perry's body of work.