With a surreal storyline and a famous actor playing himself, this playful existential comedy unavoidably draws comparisons with Being John Malkovich, yet first-time writer-director Sophie Barthes’s assured feature film debut has a deadpan wit and gentle pathos all its own. In New York, Paul Giamatti is agonising over the rehearsals for his forthcoming production of Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya, so he enlists the services of a company that offers to lighten his burden by temporarily storing his soul. Unfortunately, despite the soothing assurances of David Strathairn’s smooth-talking doctor, the transaction doesn’t quite go to plan and Giamatti finds himself mixed up in the murky world of soul trafficking in the company of Dina Kurzon’s world-weary Russian mule. Bizarre? Certainly, but funny, touching and thought-provoking too.
Released on 15th March.
