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Review

Don't be fooled by the marketing! In an obvious effort to expand their audience, Focus Features wanted most of the movie-going public to see the trailer and think of Greenberg as a cutesy romantic comedy vehicle for Ben Stiller. It is nothing of the kind. Greenberg is actually a thrilling, darkly funny and poignant character study from gifted indie filmmaker Noah Baumbach (The Squid and the Whale, Margot at the Wedding). Roger Greenberg (Stiller) has much in common with Bernard (Jeff Daniels' character in The Squid and the Whale) and Margot (Nicole Kidman's character in Margot at the Wedding), from Baumbach's previous films. All three seem to suffer from severe borderline personality disorders. Baumbach is a master at subtley examining characters who exhibit discouraging, impulsive, petulant and sometimes self-destrictive social behavior.

Greenberg, the character, is an overly cynical man-child who can't think beyond the realm of his own ego. Back in the early ‘90s, after turning down a contract offer from a major record label that would have shaped his life and career, he fled from Los Angeles to New York – leaving his family and understandably bitter bandmates behind. Now, living an aimless life as a carpenter, Greenberg chooses to "do nothing," refusing to grow up or seek stability—even resenting those of his generation who have.

Returning to the sprawling suburban landscape of L.A. to housesit for his more successful younger brother (Chris Messina), he reunites with old friends (Rhys Ifans, Mark Duplass), tries to rekindle an old flame (Jennifer Jason Leigh), and, most interestingly, begins a temperamental relationship with Florence (Greta Gerwig), his brother’s much younger personal assistant.

As Florence, the sweetly shy, undeserving victim of Greenberg's eratic mood shifts, Greta Gerwig steals the movie. A veteran of the Mumblecore film scene—which features ultra-low budget productions shot on digital video with non-professional actors who improvise the majority of their dialog - Gerwig brings a natural, every-woman to the character that might not exist had Baumbach cast a more famous actress (Amy Adams was originally considered, but I can't even picture her in this role).

Also worth noting is the fact that this film marks Ben Stiller's welcome return to the world of independent film. As Greenberg, he delivers his most gripping performance since 1998's Permanent Midnight. With roles in films like Your Friends & Neighbors, Zero Effect, and Flirting with Disaster, Stiller was a something of an indie darling in the late '90s—often the Mike Nichols to alternative comedy goddess Janeane Garofalo's Elaine May (or, more fittingly, the Jerry Stiller to her Anne Meara). But, after almost a decade filled with Hollywood schlock, he seemed to be more interested in fat paychecks than in worthwhile cinema. Playing a frequently loathsome character under Baumbach's direction, Stiller reminds us that there are serious acting chops lurking under his mainstream comedy surface.

 -- Robert O'Neill