‘See You When I See You’ Review: Jay Duplass And Outstanding Cast Team On Heartfelt Dramedy Inspired By Real Life Family Tragedy – Sundance Film Festival

Somehow the directing career of Jay Duplass got waylaid for a few years as he explored other creative pursuits. Then when he was ready to come back calling shots behind the camera, the pandemic and strikes hit, meaning it had been a very long 13 years between directorial efforts when he finally shot last year’s much praised (and current indie spirit nominee) The Baltimorons. Now, making up for lost time, comes the excellent new dramedy, See You When I See You which has just premiered today at the Sundance Film Festival.

The difference for this one is Duplass didn’t write it, something he has previously done for all his films. It is in fact a script that came to him via producers Kumail Nanjiani and Emily Gordon that was written by first time screenwriter and stand up comic Adam Cayton-Holland based on his 2018 memoir “Tragedy Plus Time: A Tragi-Comic Memoir”. It detailed his experience with PTSD over the suicide of his younger sister and how he dealt with loss and grief. Looking to make a movie that blends humor and family drama ala Terms Of Endearment, Duplass found something to jump into and developed it with Nanjiani and Gordon who had been down the path of turning real life trauma into movies with their Oscar nominated The Big Sick, a film they see as a forerunner of Cayton-Holland’s story.

Blending comedy and tragedy ain’t easy, but Duplass has succeeded in a tricky tonal balancing act here centering it all on Aaron Whistler (Cooper Raiff) who is a bit of a mess as we meet him, a young man with increasing mental health issues his sessions with a therapist aren’t easily curing. He is constantly haunted by his discovery of his beloved young sister Leah (Kaitlyn Dever) who took her own life before he could arrive at her house to help her. It has affected his own relationships with his family including father Robert (David Duchovny) and older sister Emily (Lucy Boynton) who both work as civil rights lawyers, mom Page (Hope Davis), and his girlfriend Camila (Ariela Barer). His career is also on the skids in terms of trying to come up with material with his co-writers for his comedy podcast other than the same old dick jokes.

He isn’t the only Whistler family member struggling to deal with loss and grief and the planning of a delayed memorial service that is dividing the family. Emily is in denial on her emotions, Robert tries to keep an air of normality, and Page is hiding her own health crisis, refusing to go to a doctor after discovering a lump on her breast, a decision causing a rift between her and her husband. Meanwhile Aaron’s personal life and relationship with Camila isn’t doing well, especially in moments where his impulsive actions and episodes take him back to that fateful discovery making things even more difficult.

At its heart this is a family story that tiptoes around the unspoken, the hurt, the grief, the denial, and the unbearable loss each is facing in their own way. Oh, and yeah it’s a comedy. The movie, especially with a novice screenwriter trying to tell his personal (fictionalized) story by adapting his own internalized book, is a high wire act, but to Duplass’s credit we are with the Whistlers all the way, even in the most difficult and frustrating moments with Aaron.

A superb cast of pros can be thanked for all of this starting with Raiff’s complex and impressive performance of a young man adrift who is just trying to hang on any way he can. A talented filmmaker himself, Raiff serves up a portrayal that never hits a false note, truly difficult when you think there is a guy standing off camera who basically lived it and is watching you. Duchovny goes for a lighter touch as a father and husband trying to keep things together the way they were, but also now struggling to support a wife and her cancer even as she emotionally shuts the door on him.

The women in the cast, Davis, Boynton, and Barer also hit just the right subtle beats that don’t go for easy sentiment. Dever has perhaps the toughest role, along with Raiff’s, because she is essentially dead for the entire movie, often seen in surreal visions of Aaron’s at different points in her life, where we are given limited time to get to know her and to understand the gravity of her loss. That we do is a tribute to this terrific actor. These scenes are unique in that they aren’t traditional flashbacks but more stylized moments in which (with visual effects) Leah slips out of her brother’s orbit. It may sound gimmicky but it is a great touch, quite moving and effective in its own way.

This is a family looking for closure who can’t agree on how to get there. Ultimately Cayton-Holland’s smart screenplay, an outstanding cast, and the sensitive direction of Duplass show us the way.

Producers are Fred Bernstein, Duplass, Cayton-Holland, Nanjiani, and Gordon.

Title: See You When I See You

Festival: Sundance (Premieres)

Director: Jay Duplass

Screenplay: Adam Cayton-Holland

Cast: Cooper Raiff, Hope Davis, Ariela Barre

Running Time: 1 hour and 42 minutes

Sales Agent: CAA