Good Posture

After spoiled film-making graduate Lillian (Grace Van Patten) is dumped by her boyfriend, she ends up staying with her wealthy father's friends, musician Don (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) and reclusive writer Julia (Emily Mortimer). But Don is soon sent packing, and Julia communicates almost exclusively by writing notes, so Lillian is left to make grown-up decisions for the first time in her life. First-time director Dolly Wells (who is creator, with Mortimer, of TV's Doll & Em) has crafted a confident dramatic comedy that is deceptively watchable, funny and loaded with uncanny insight. As much as we long to sympathise with the poor little rich girl Lillian, it's a Sisyphean task, and credit goes to Van Patten for creating a believable and very nearly unforgivably irritating character. And the clever device of having Lillian make a documentary about Julia allows for the inclusion of nifty interviews with Zadie Smith, Martin Amis and Jonathan Ames. It's a crafty comedy, this: a remarkable debut.