Liberal Arts (film)

Last updated

Liberal Arts
Liberal Arts FilmPoster.jpeg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Josh Radnor
Written by Josh Radnor
Produced byBrice Dal Farra
Claude Dal Farra
Jesse Hara
Lauren Munsch
Josh Radnor
Starring
CinematographySeamus Tierney
Edited byMichael R. Miller
Music byBen Toth
Production
companies
Strategic Motion Ventures
BCDF Pictures
Tom Sawyer Entertainment
Distributed by IFC Films
Release dates
  • January 22, 2012 (2012-01-22)(Sundance)
  • September 14, 2012 (2012-09-14)(United States)
Running time
97 minutes [1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$1.1 million [2]

Liberal Arts is a 2012 American comedy-drama film, written and directed by Josh Radnor. It tells the story of 35-year-old Jesse (Radnor) who has a romantic relationship with Zibby (Elizabeth Olsen), a 19-year-old college student. [3] The film premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival in January 2012. [4]

Contents

Plot

Jesse Fisher, a 35-year-old college admissions officer in NYC who loves literature and language, is newly single and dissatisfied with his life and career. He believes the happiest time of his life was the years at his unnamed Ohio liberal arts college, where he could study uninterrupted, surrounded by others like him. Peter Hoberg, his former English professor, invites Jesse back to the college to attend his retirement ceremony. Jesse meets 19-year-old Zibby, a sophomore studying drama and the daughter of Peter's friends.

After the retirement dinner, Jesse stumbles upon a campus party where he runs into Zibby. They agree to have coffee together the next day. He spends the afternoon with her, walking around the campus discussing life, books, and music. He also encounters his old romantics teacher, Judith Fairfield—a woman he has long admired—and meets the eccentric Nat, and Dean, a brilliant but depressed student who, like Jesse, always carries a book with him. [5]

Before Jesse leaves, Zibby asks to stay in touch through hand-written letters and they become closer. Meanwhile, Peter feels lost facing his upcoming retirement, and goes to the dean to ask to stay on. He is told that they have already hired his replacement.

Zibby invites Jesse back to campus, hinting that she has feelings for him. Jesse has concerns about the 16-year age gap, but agrees. They spend time together and kiss. When Peter sees them together, however, he encourages Jesse to date women his own age. Zibby confesses her feelings to Jesse and asks him to sleep with her; he agrees, but changes his mind after she admits that she is a virgin. Zibby is insulted and hurt and asks him to leave. Jesse goes to a bar where he meets Fairfield again. They have a one-night stand, but afterwards she tells him to grow up and kicks him out. Meanwhile, Zibby goes to a party and kisses a classmate. Jesse leaves without seeing Zibby again, but says goodbye to Peter.

Jesse returns to New York and, some months later, writes to Zibby again. He apologizes for hurting her, says that he misses her and credits her for helping him to grow. He meets and starts dating Ana, a bookseller his own age with a similar love for books. After Jesse helps avert Dean's suicide by overdose, he advises the young man to stop hiding from life within books.

Jesse goes to see Zibby and apologizes to her again. She says that she had hoped to take a shortcut to life through a relationship with Jesse, and that she understands that what he did was the right thing. Jesse goes back home and renews his correspondence with Zibby. The film ends with Zibby lying down reading Songs of Innocence and of Experience which she received via courier from Jesse, and Ana lying on Jesse's chest, them happily talking about growing old.

Cast

Filming

The majority of scenes were filmed at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio. [5] Kenyon is the real life alma mater of both Radnor and co-star Allison Janney.

Reception

Liberal Arts received generally positive reviews and has a rating of 71% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 113 reviews with an average score of 6.56 out of 10. The consensus states: "While it's hard not to wish it had a little more bite, Liberal Arts ultimately succeeds as a good-natured – and surprisingly clever – look at the addictive pull of nostalgia for our youth." [6] The film also has a score of 55 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 24 reviews, indicating "Mixed or average reviews". [7]

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 3 and a half out of 4 stars and stated in his review:

"Liberal Arts is an almost unreasonable pleasure about a jaded New Yorker who returns to his alma mater in Ohio and finds that his heart would like to stay there. It's the kind of film that appeals powerfully to me; to others, maybe not so much.
"There is a part of me that will forever want to be walking under autumn leaves, carrying a briefcase containing the works of Shakespeare and Yeats and a portable chess set. I will pass an old tree under which once on a summer night I lay on the grass with a fragrant young woman and we quoted e.e. cummings back and forth. There is a word to explain why this particular film so appealed to me. Reader, that word is 'escapism.' If you understand why I used the word 'reader' in just that way, you are possibly an ideal viewer for this movie." [8]

Related Research Articles

<i>In the Bedroom</i> 2001 film by Todd Field

In the Bedroom is a 2001 American independent drama film directed by Todd Field from a screenplay written by Field and Robert Festinger, based on the 1979 short story "Killings" by Andre Dubus. It stars Sissy Spacek, Tom Wilkinson, Nick Stahl, Marisa Tomei, and William Mapother. The film centers on the inner dynamics of a family in transition. Matt Fowler (Wilkinson) is a doctor practicing in Maine and is married to Ruth Fowler (Spacek), a music teacher. Their son Frank (Stahl) is involved in a love affair with an older single mother, Natalie Strout (Tomei). As the beauty of Maine's brief and fleeting summer comes to an end, these characters find themselves in the midst of an unimaginable tragedy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenyon College</span> Private liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio, US

Kenyon College is a private liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio. It was founded in 1824 by Philander Chase. Kenyon College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allison Janney</span> American actress (born 1959)

Allison Brooks Janney is an American actress. Known for her performances across the screen and stage, she has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe Award, and seven Primetime Emmy Awards, in addition to nominations for two Tony Awards.

<i>Crumb</i> (film) 1995 American film

Crumb is a 1995 American documentary film about the noted underground cartoonist R. Crumb and his family and his outlook on life. Directed by Terry Zwigoff and produced by Lynn O'Donnell, it won widespread acclaim. It was released in the USA on April 28, 1995, having been screened at film festivals that year. Jeffery M. Anderson placed the film on his list of the ten greatest films of all time, labeling it "the greatest documentary ever made." The Criterion Collection released the film on DVD and Blu-ray on August 10, 2010.

<i>Old School</i> (film) 2003 film by Todd Phillips

Old School is a 2003 American black comedy film directed and co-written by Todd Phillips. The film stars Luke Wilson, Vince Vaughn, and Will Ferrell as depressed men in their thirties who seek to relive their college days by starting a fraternity, and the tribulations they encounter in doing so. The film was released on February 21, 2003, received mixed reviews from critics, and grossed $86 million worldwide.

<i>Patch Adams</i> (film) 1998 film by Tom Shadyac

Patch Adams is a 1998 American biographical comedy-drama film directed by Tom Shadyac and starring Robin Williams in the lead role, Monica Potter, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bob Gunton, Daniel London, and Peter Coyote. Set in the late 1960s/early 1970s, it is loosely based on the life story of Dr. Hunter "Patch" Adams and the book Gesundheit: Good Health Is a Laughing Matter by Dr. Adams and Maureen Mylander. The film received generally unfavorable reviews from critics, with criticism for the sentimentality and direction, but was a box office success and grossed $202.3 million against a $50–90 million budget.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Josh Radnor</span> American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter

Joshua Thomas Radnor is an American actor, filmmaker, author, and musician. He is perhaps best known for portraying Ted Mosby on the Emmy Award–winning CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother. He made his writing and directorial debut with the 2010 comedy drama film Happythankyoumoreplease, for which he won the Sundance Film Festival Audience Award and was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize.

<i>Smooth Talk</i> 1985 film by Joyce Chopra

Smooth Talk is a 1985 film directed by Joyce Chopra, loosely based on Joyce Carol Oates' short story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" (1966), which was in turn inspired by the Tucson murders committed by Charles Schmid. The protagonist and main character, Connie Wyatt, is played by Laura Dern. The antagonist, Arnold Friend, is played by Treat Williams.

<i>Daisy Kenyon</i> 1947 film by Otto Preminger

Daisy Kenyon is a 1947 American romantic-drama film by 20th Century Fox starring Joan Crawford, Henry Fonda, and Dana Andrews in a story about a post-World War II romantic triangle. The screenplay by David Hertz was based upon a 1945 novel of the same name by Elizabeth Janeway. The film was directed and produced by Otto Preminger. Having opened to restrained reception, Daisy Kenyon has seen reappraisal, and now enjoys a minor cult following for its realistic treatment of a typically melodramatic plot.

<i>Lonesome Jim</i> 2005 film by Steve Buscemi

Lonesome Jim is a 2005 American comedy/drama film directed by actor/filmmaker Steve Buscemi. Filmed mostly in the city of Goshen, Indiana, the film stars Casey Affleck as a chronically depressed aspiring writer who moves back into his parents' home after failing to make it in New York City. His older brother already lives there with his two daughters. Liv Tyler stars as a good-hearted nurse who begins a sexual relationship with Jim and starts to see him as a potential stepfather for her son.

<i>Solitary Man</i> (film) 2009 American film

Solitary Man is a 2009 American film co-directed by Brian Koppelman and David Levien. The film stars Michael Douglas, Susan Sarandon, Jenna Fischer, Jesse Eisenberg, Mary-Louise Parker, and Danny DeVito. The film received generally positive reviews, though it grossed just $5.68 million against its $15 million budget.

<i>The Kids Are All Right</i> (film) 2010 film by Lisa Cholodenko

The Kids Are All Right is a 2010 American comedy-drama film directed by Lisa Cholodenko and written by Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg. It is among the first mainstream movies to show a same-sex couple raising two teenagers. A hit at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, it opened in limited release on July 9, 2010, expanded to more theaters on July 30, 2010, and was released on DVD and Blu-ray on November 16, 2010. The film was awarded the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and Annette Bening was awarded the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. The film also received four Academy Award nominations, including one for Best Picture, at the 83rd Academy Awards.

Haven Entertainment, founded in 2006 as Tom Sawyer Entertainment is a film production and management company founded by Rachel Miller and Jesse Hara. Haven produced happythankyoumoreplease, the US Audience Award winner at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. Miller is an agent who represented Josephine Angelini's Starcrossed.

<i>Our Idiot Brother</i> 2011 film by Jesse Peretz

Our Idiot Brother is a 2011 American comedy-drama film directed by Jesse Peretz and starring Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, Zooey Deschanel and Emily Mortimer. The script was written by Evgenia Peretz and David Schisgall based on Jesse and Evgenia Peretz's story, and tells the story of a dimwitted but idealistic and well-meaning man who intrudes and wreaks havoc in his three sisters' lives.

<i>Martha Marcy May Marlene</i> 2011 film

Martha Marcy May Marlene is a 2011 American psychological thriller-drama film written and directed by Sean Durkin, and starring Elizabeth Olsen, John Hawkes, Sarah Paulson, and Hugh Dancy. The plot focuses on a young woman suffering from delusions and paranoia after returning to her family from an abusive cult in the Catskill Mountains.

<i>Pitch Perfect</i> 2012 American musical comedy film by Jason Moore

Pitch Perfect is a 2012 American musical comedy film directed by Jason Moore and written by Kay Cannon. It features an ensemble cast, including Anna Kendrick, Skylar Astin, Rebel Wilson, Adam DeVine, Anna Camp, Brittany Snow, Hana Mae Lee, Alexis Knapp, Ester Dean, Kelley Jakle, Shelley Regner, Wanetah Walmsley, Ben Platt, Utkarsh Ambudkar, John Michael Higgins, and Elizabeth Banks. The plot follows Barden University's all-girl a cappella group, the Barden Bellas, as they compete against another a cappella group from their college to win Nationals. The film is loosely adapted from Mickey Rapkin's non-fiction book, titled Pitch Perfect: The Quest for Collegiate a Cappella Glory and director Jason Moore's own experiences at his alma mater, Northwestern University. Filming concluded in December 2011, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

<i>Very Good Girls</i> 2013 American film

Very Good Girls is a 2013 American drama film and the first feature film directed by American screenwriter Naomi Foner, whose script for drama Running on Empty was Oscar-nominated. First screened publicly in early 2013, the film stars Dakota Fanning and Elizabeth Olsen as two friends who fall for the same man. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 22, 2013; it was given a release on home formats on June 24, 2014.

<i>The Spectacular Now</i> 2013 film directed by James Ponsoldt

The Spectacular Now is a 2013 American coming-of-age romantic drama film directed by James Ponsoldt, from a screenplay written by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, based on the 2008 novel of the same name by Tim Tharp. It stars Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley as high-schoolers Sutter and Aimee, whose unexpected encounter leads to a romance blossoming between the two. Brie Larson, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Bob Odenkirk, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Kyle Chandler are featured in supporting roles.

<i>Touchy Feely</i> 2013 film by Lynn Shelton

Touchy Feely is a 2013 film directed by Lynn Shelton and stars Rosemarie DeWitt as a massage therapist who develops a phobia to touching skin. Other cast members include Allison Janney, Ron Livingston, Scoot McNairy, Elliot Page and Josh Pais. The film premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival where it was nominated for the U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic, and was released on September 6, 2013. It gained a mixed critical reception, and grossed over $36,000 in the United States.

<i>Indignation</i> (film) 2016 American film

Indignation is a 2016 American drama film written, produced, and directed by James Schamus. The film, based on the 2008 novel of the same name by Philip Roth, is set mostly in Ohio in the early 1950s, and stars Logan Lerman, Sarah Gadon, Tracy Letts, Linda Emond, and Danny Burstein.

References

  1. ↑ Liberal Arts at Box Office Mojo
  2. ↑ "Liberal Arts (2012) - Financial Information". The Numbers.
  3. ↑ Anderton, Ethan (March 24, 2011). "Film's plot". Firstshowing.net. Retrieved September 20, 2015.
  4. ↑ "2012 Sundance Film Festival". Filmguide.sundance.org. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved September 20, 2015.
  5. 1 2 "Liberal Arts Lights up the Big Screen". Kenyon College Alumni Bulletin. Vol. 35, no. 1. 2012. Archived from the original on May 5, 2013. this huge book that this one kid on campus is reading...but it's clearly David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest .
  6. ↑ "Liberal Arts (2012)". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved May 25, 2020.
  7. ↑ "Liberal Arts Reviews". Metacritic . Retrieved September 20, 2015.
  8. ↑ Ebert, Roger (September 19, 2012). "Why did we ever leave college?". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved September 20, 2015.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.