X
- 2018
- PG-13
- FilmRise
- 1 h 31 m
- 2018
- PG-13
- FilmRise
- 1 h 31 m
Summary A young woman is forced to reflect on her first relationship when she inadvertently moves into her ex boyfriend's apartment building.
Directed By: Sophie Brooks
Written By: Sophie Brooks
- 2018
- PG-13
- FilmRise
- 1 h 31 m
- 2018
- PG-13
- FilmRise
- 1 h 31 m
The Boy Downstairs
59
User Score
Available after 4 ratings
tbd
Where to Watch
Summary A young woman is forced to reflect on her first relationship when she inadvertently moves into her ex boyfriend's apartment building.
Directed By: Sophie Brooks
Written By: Sophie Brooks
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 11 Critic Reviews
59
45% Positive
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
27% Mixed
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
27% Negative
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 11 Critic Reviews
59
45% Positive
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
27% Mixed
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
27% Negative
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
As the film moves elegantly between past and present, Brooks proves a keen observer of behavior and the pitfalls of overthinking. Finding complex beauty in what would be merely obvious in a lesser work, her delightful feature taps into a rarely broached, generally female coming-of-age dilemma: the fear of losing yourself before you know who you are.
Any movie that can bring to mind a Joni Mitchell song as the credits roll — “Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you've got 'till it's gone” — has earned its keep.
The Boy Downstairs straddles a patchy line between comedy and drama with mixed results, but when all is said and done, the auspicious film acts like a mature consideration of the scariness of vulnerability and laying your heart on the line.
Zosia Mamet is the major selling point here. In a film that’s lovely but unlikely to prove memorable, she shows she can carry a film with immense charm.
More frustratingly, Brooks jumps back and forth in time between the couple’s past relationship and the current day, with nary a physical or emotive change evident in either party. It becomes a task just to figure out which timeline you’re in, and then convince yourself why you should care.
Endeavoring to give us a post-mumblecore spin on Annie Hall, writer-director Sophie Brooks seemingly fails to understand what made Woody Allen's film so appealing: its rich, multi-faceted characterizations.
How, and in whose apartment, Diana and Ben will confess their emotions is the subject of Ms. Brooks’s pallid dramedy, which leaves its actors looking somewhat stranded, as if waiting for Neil Simon zingers that were never written.
User Reviews
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Production Company
The Boy Downstairs Productions,
Cliffbrook Films,
Motion Picture Capital
Release Date Feb 16, 2018
Duration 1 h 31 m
Rating PG-13
Tagline Her ex-lover is her new neighbor
Website
http://theboydownstairs.com/
Awards
Napa Valley Film Festival
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
