As I’ve mentioned before, one of my new hobbies is trawling the internet for recommendations of hidden gems on Netflix. My choices have mostly erred towards sci-fi thrillers, but I’ve also been on the lookout for quirky comedies. The success rate has been surprisingly high so far, so I’ve been happy to carry on devoting my Sunday evenings to watching films that the internet has recommended to me.
Tonight’s choice was from the quirky comedy pot, and I loved it almost immediately. Carrie Pilby is about an over-educated, over-intelligent British girl living in New York. She is advised by her therapist to create a list of things to achieve over the year, which she naturally resists (“What’s so great about being happy anyway? There are some brilliant unhappy people”) but eventually relents. It’s predictable in parts, but delightful in most others and reminds me a lot of the indie films I used to lap up in my more film literate days (Hal Hartley and Whit Stillman fans will likely be perfectly at home with Carrie Pilby).
Even the Elderbeast loved it, after I virtually forced him to sit down and watch a film with me. And now I can’t wait to watch it again.