Write When You Get Work

Last updated

Write When You Get Work
Write When You Get Work poster.jpg
Directed by Stacy Cochran
Written byStacy Cochran
Produced byAlison Beckett
Adam Gibbs
Jesse Ozeri
Stacy Cochran
Starring
Cinematography Robert Elswit
Edited byNicholas Ramirez
Release date
  • March 12, 2018 (2018-03-12)(SXSW)
Running time
99 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Write When You Get Work is a 2018 American comedy drama film written and directed by Stacy Cochran and starring Finn Wittrock, Rachel Keller, Scott Cohen, Jessica Hecht and Emily Mortimer. The film follows Ruth, a South Brooklyn native working at a Manhattan private school for girls, who becomes involved in a plot to help out the daughter of a less privileged family. [1] [2]

Contents

Plot

Ruth Duffy is working to establish a clean slate on the lower rungs of the Upper East Side, having left a life of petty crime. She currently works as an "interim" in the admissions office of an exclusive private school. The student body of the school is mostly white, as the costs of attending the school prevents children from less privileged backgrounds from attending. Ruth's attempts to go straight are complicated when one day, she runs into Jonny, her high school boyfriend who still engages in robbery. Jonny works his way back into Ruth's life and concocts a scheme to target Nan Noble, the snooty wife of a legally imperiled hedge-fund manager.

Cast

Production

Write When You Get Work was shot in New York City's Upper East Side and under the Throgs Neck Bridge in the waterfront neighborhood of Locust Point. The movie was shot on Super 16mm film in 20 days by Oscar-winning cinematographer Robert Elswit. [3]

Critical reception

Vox Magazine commented, "The film successfully explores multiple viewpoints and systemic issues, which eventually comes together in the films conclusion making for a stunning finish. Cochran finds a way to make the individual storylines and details that seem unrelated form a perfect fit." [3] Jeannette Catsoulis of The New York Times criticized the characters as "unappealing" and the story as not credible, writing the film "presents rich folk as gullible idiots and blue-collar crooks as heroes." [4] However, she praised the cinematography by Elswit, saying his "sensuously shot opening sequence alone almost carried me through to the end." [4]

Sheila O'Malley of RogerEbert.com wrote, "There are some interesting things going on, and some insight into New York's economic hierarchy, but the film veers off into a hard-to-believe crime heist, and, ultimately, none of it really hangs together." [5] O'Malley complimented Wittrock, saying that he convincingly pulls off an "amoral" role. [5] Of Mortimer, O'Malley commented she is "a jangly mess of nerves and irritation [and] plays so compellingly terrible a character—filled with the self-pitying rage of the rich—that she is the most watchable thing in the movie. Nan is not a stereotype." [5] She also lauded the cinematography, writing "Elswit captures New York's mercurial personality, how it changes in different lights, be it harsh morning light or the monochromatic blues of dusk. Sometimes the streets feel expansive, sometimes they feel desolate and empty. It's a great-looking film, entrenched in a specific sense of place." [5] Richard Brody of The New Yorker was more positive, writing "The core of the film is Ruth and Jonny's backstory, which is dosed out in frustrating droplets but is nonetheless affecting." [2]

On review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes, Write When You Get Work has an approval rating of 38% based on 21 reviews. [6]

Related Research Articles

<i>Twentieth Century</i> (film) 1934 film by Howard Hawks

Twentieth Century is a 1934 American pre-Code screwball comedy film directed by Howard Hawks and starring John Barrymore, Carole Lombard, Walter Connolly, and Roscoe Karns. Much of the film is set on the 20th Century Limited train as it travels from Chicago to New York City. Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur adapted their 1932 Broadway play of the same name—itself based on the unproduced play Napoleon of Broadway by Charles Bruce Millholland—with uncredited contributions from Gene Fowler and Preston Sturges.

<i>Blood & Chocolate</i> (film) 2007 film by Katja von Garnier

Blood & Chocolate is a 2007 fantasy-horror film directed by Katja von Garnier. It was written by Ehren Kruger and Christopher B. Landon and is loosely inspired by Annette Curtis Klause's 1997 young adult novel of the same name.

<i>Havana Widows</i> 1933 film

Havana Widows is a 1933 American pre-Code comedy film directed by Ray Enright, starring Joan Blondell and Glenda Farrell. It was released by Warner Bros. on November 18, 1933. Two chorus girls travel to Havana in search of rich husbands. Their target is Deacon Jones, a self-appointed moralist who cannot drink without getting drunk.

<i>Miracle in the Rain</i> Novella

Miracle in the Rain is a United States home front during World War II-themed novella by veteran screenwriter Ben Hecht, published in the April 3, 1943 issue of The Saturday Evening Post weekly magazine then, within six months, issued in booklet form and, thirteen years later, following four half-hour or one-hour live television productions which reduced the story to plot essentials, was adapted by him into a Warner Bros. feature film released on March 31, 1956.

<i>Great Directors</i> 2009 American film

Great Directors is a 2009 documentary film which was written and directed by Angela Ismailos. In the film, Ismailos interviews directors of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, including Bernardo Bertolucci, Catherine Breillat, Liliana Cavani, Stephen Frears, Todd Haynes, Richard Linklater, Ken Loach, David Lynch, John Sayles, and Agnès Varda.

I Love You is a 2005 Croatian drama film directed and written by Dalibor Matanić.

<i>Wrecked</i> (film) 2010 Canadian film

Wrecked is a 2010 Canadian thriller film, directed by Michael Greenspan, written by Christopher Dodd, produced by Kyle Mann and starring Adrien Brody. It was released by IFC Midnight Films on April 1, 2011.

<i>Children of God</i> (film) 2010 Bahamian film

Children of God is a 2010 Bahamian romantic drama film by director and screenwriter Kareem Mortimer.

<i>Forks Over Knives</i> 2011 American film

Forks Over Knives is a 2011 American documentary film which argues that avoiding animal products and Ultra-processed foods, and instead eating a whole-food, plant-based diet, may serve as a form of chronic illness intervention.

<i>Las Acacias</i> (film) 2011 film

Las Acacias is a 2011 Argentine drama film directed by Pablo Giorgelli. The film won the Caméra d'Or at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.

<i>Sun Dont Shine</i> 2012 film by Amy Seimetz

Sun Don't Shine is a 2012 independent thriller film written and directed by Amy Seimetz and starring Kate Lyn Sheil and Kentucker Audley. It first premiered on March 10, 2012 at the South by Southwest Film Festival, where it won a Special Jury Award. The film was released in a limited release and through video on demand on April 26, 2013, by Factory25.

Girl Model is a 2011 documentary film following Ashley, a conflicted model scout recruiting young Siberian girls to model in Japan, and Nadya, a recruited 13-year-old who gets financially taken advantage of during her modeling work in Japan. It was directed by David Redmon and A. Sabin. The film holds a 93% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

<i>It Felt Like Love</i> 2013 film by Eliza Hittman

It Felt Like Love is a 2013 independent drama film and the directorial debut of Eliza Hittman. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was later acquired by Variance Films, receiving a limited theatrical release in March 2014. The film follows the coming-of-age of teenager Lila as she riskily courts the attentions of an older boy.

<i>C.O.G.</i> 2013 American film

C.O.G. is an American comedy drama film directed and written by Kyle Patrick Alvarez and starring Jonathan Groff. The film, whose title stands for Child of God, is based on a David Sedaris short story from his book of collected essays, Naked. It marks the first time one of Sedaris's stories was adapted for film. It co-stars Denis O'Hare, Casey Wilson, Dean Stockwell, Troian Bellisario, and Corey Stoll. C.O.G. was filmed on location in Forest Grove, Oregon in October 2012.

<i>Food Chains</i> 2014 American film

Food Chains is a 2014 American documentary film about agricultural labor in the United States directed by Sanjay Rawal. It was the Recipient of the 2015 James Beard Foundation Award for Special/Documentary.

<i>Sex with Brody</i> 2015 American TV series or program

Sex with Brody is an American talk show that premiered on July 10, 2015, on E! television network. Announced in April 2015, the show features television personality Brody Jenner, actress Stevie Ryan, and relationship therapist Dr. Mike Dow as they discuss various topics related to sex and relationships.

<i>England Is Mine</i> 2017 film by Mark Gill

England Is Mine is a 2017 British biographical drama film, based on the early years of singer Morrissey, before he formed the Smiths in 1982 with Johnny Marr. Originally titled Steven, the title of the film comes from a lyric in the Smiths' song "Still Ill": "England is mine, and it owes me a living." The film is an unauthorised portrayal of Morrissey's pre-success years. It is Mark Gill's feature-length directorial debut, as well as Jodie Comer's first feature film appearance.

Tess Frazer is an American actress from New York City. She is best known for starring alongside Michelle Dockery, Merritt Wever, and Jeff Daniels when playing Callie Dunne in the Emmy Award winning Netflix western TV miniseries Godless.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stacy Cochran</span> American film director

Stacy Cochran is an American film director, screenwriter and producer based in New York City. She is best known for her films My New Gun (1992) and Boys (1996).

Karen Maine is an American film director and screenwriter known for Obvious Child and Yes, God, Yes.

References

  1. "About". Write When You Get Work (official site). Retrieved January 17, 2019.
  2. 1 2 Brody, Richard. "Write When You Get Work". The New Yorker . Retrieved January 17, 2019.
  3. 1 2 Wilson, Shannon (November 4, 2018). "'Write When You Get Work' is a comical heist with a purpose". Vox Magazine. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
  4. 1 2 Catsoulis, Jeannette (November 22, 2018). "'Write When You Get Work' Review: Backstreet Boy Seeks Uptown Girl". The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved November 27, 2022.
  5. 1 2 3 4 O'Malley, Sheila (November 23, 2018). "Write When You Get Work movie review (2018)". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved January 27, 2022.
  6. "Write When You Get Work". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved November 27, 2022.