The 2015 film "Maggie's Plan" is about a young woman who desires to have a baby, but then that plan becomes more complicated when she falls in love with a married man. On the surface, that is the plot of the film. However, there is much more going on underneath, from a question of how we express love to what we really want in our lives.
The romantic comedy pairs writer-director Rebecca Miller and leading actress Greta Gerwig together again to tell the story of Maggie, a young woman living in New York City, working at The New School, and trying to figure out her life as she balances wanting a child but not being able to handle love and a real relationship. The titular "plan" involves Maggie looking to artificially inseminate herself with the sperm of an old college friend, one she chooses based on his old love of math. This is going as awkwardly as expected. Then, she stumbles upon Ethan Hawke's character, John, a "ficto-critical anthropologist" who is struggling to write the next great novel.
One night together after going over his novel, a child, and three years later bring us into the heart of "Maggie's Plan," where we see how our actions can add up to larger consequences. Despite the twists and turns the film takes with our emotions and we flip between loving Maggie for her controlling ways and rolling our eyes at her social ineptitude, it always falls back in a place of realistic happiness and innocence. The characters make bad decisions, and so do real people. It's one of the most charming aspects of the film.
The costumes and sets are paid extraordinary detail, from the goofy, thrift-shop finds Maggie dons from scene to scene that juxtapose well with her "rival's" cashmere-blend sweaters and chic skinny jeans, to the collection of knickknacks each character has in their apartment. Things looks warm, inviting, and just slightly disheveled in the same way most of our "dream apartment" Pinterest boards appear. But what makes it really loveable is the fact everything is coming undone despite the physical perfection.
The supporting cast is also spectacular. Bill Hader and Maya Rudolph play Maggie's couple friends from college who try to guide her in a better path than the rocky one she sets up for herself. They add a much needed comic relief in the more serious scenes. Julianne Moore is also spectacular in her role as a Columbia University professor who uses her husband's affair as inspiration for her academic work. The cast of quirky characters makes this feel all the more like a New York film, a la Woody Allen.
NYU students may recognize many of the scenes as the film was indeed entirely shot in New York City, with much screen time being devoted to shots in and around Washington Square Park. If you're a sophomore or older, you may even be in the scenes as they were shot in February 2015. You'll feel right at home and safe in the best way possible.
The film is set to be released on Sony Classic Pictures nationwide on May 20th.
