Mental illness.
Movies tend to handle it one of two ways — it’s either a major problem, leading to crisis and drama. Or it’s somehow something funny, leading to laughter and comedy.
Rarely anything in between.
But in his debut feature FANTASY LIFE, writer-director Matthew Shear finds a different path. With honesty and nuance drawn from personal experience, Shear explores how dealing with anxiety, depression, and other chapters of the DSM is something that can challenge us even as we cope with the complications these issues bring to our lives.
Shear not only wrote the screenplay, but took on the responsibility of directing both himself and the cast to bring the film to completion. And what a cast! Judd Hirsch, Holland Taylor, Bob Balaban, and Andrea Martin bring warmth and depth to their supporting roles, while Alessandro Nivola and Amanda Peet — whom reviewers are calling radiant, giving the performance of a lifetime — complete the central triangle with Shear himself.
IndieWire calls FANTASY LIFE “sharp, witty, wise, and funny.” The film opened to rave reviews and strong audience response in New York, and opens nationwide on April 3rd.
We sat down with filmmaker Matthew Shear ahead of that rollout — and we’re happy to share that conversation with you, on INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE, starting now.
An anxious law school dropout (Matthew Shear) stumbles into a job babysitting his psychiatrist’s three granddaughters and falls for the girls’ mother (Amanda Peet), an actress in a rocky marriage. A smart, New York-set romantic comedy co-starring Alessandro Nivola, Judd Hirsch, Bob Balaban, Andrea Martin, Zosia Mamet, and Holland Taylor. Winner of the SXSW Narrative Feature Audience Award.