Fantasy Life

by Mike McGranaghan

Amanda Peet has been doing fine work in film and television for decades, but her performance in Fantasy Life is a particular highlight. The movie, from writer/director/star Matthew Shear, is a quiet slice-of-life comedy that tenderly details the bond between two very different people who are both in need of a friend.

Dianne (Peet) is an actress whose career has hit the skids. Musician husband David (Alessandro Nivola) is too wrapped up in himself to notice how unhappy she’s become. When he goes on tour in Australia for three months, Dianne finds herself growing closer to Sam (Shear), their neurotic nanny. Sam is kind of a mess, suffering perpetual anxiety that his therapist (Judd Hirsch) tries to treat.

You might expect a romance to develop in Fantasy Life. The story does indeed address that possibility briefly. That’s not the focus, though. The nervous Sam suddenly finds himself with a pseudo wife and kids. He gets the sort of acceptance and compassion in the home that he’s lacking elsewhere. It is indeed a fantasy life for him. And it’s one for Dianne, too. Sam is far more attentive than David. His presence even stirs her to take a shot at a career revival. He is not her real husband, though.

The movie tracks how these two lost souls connect with humor and warmth. There are scenes of cringe comedy between Sam and just about everybody else. Others are poignant, as the leads fill each other’s voids. As a writer, Shear has a knack for capturing the awkward little moments that can arise from social interactions, as well as for the ways one person’s insecurities can align with another’s. If the film doesn’t necessarily say anything deep, it at least has a ring of truth that keeps you invested.

A stellar supporting cast adds immeasurably to the effect. We’re also treated to the great Andrea Martin as the therapist’s wife, Bob Balaban as Dianne’s perpetually cranky father, Jessica Harper as her mother, and Holland Taylor as a compassionate psychiatrist.

Peet, however, is the main attraction. She realistically depicts Dianne’s malaise, making it alternately hilarious and heartbreaking. Sometimes when actors play actors, it can be difficult to relate because stars’ lives seem so much different than our own. The actress transcends that, making Dianne’s problems those of a regular woman rather than those of a performer. Peet does beautiful work in a sweet, funny picture.

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