"Writer-director Alex Ross Perry’s scabrous portrait of authorial assholery in these waning days of literary-world relevance playfully re-arranges component parts from Philip Roth’s The Ghost Writer, with Jason Schwartzman starring as an up-and-coming novelist compulsively trashing his personal relationships in the name of ascetic artistic ideals that are probably just a more pretentious form of selfishness. Structured like a novel, with a wonderfully knowing third-person narration read by Eric Bogosian, Listen Up Philip is a cutting tour-de-force of cringe comedy headlined by Schwartzman’s most dyspeptic performance yet.
"Jonathan Pryce plays an even bigger blowhard, co-starring as a once-great author fading into irrelevance and loneliness. He takes this kindred, sour spirit under his wing and offers a grim glimpse of Schwartzman’s future. Departing for chapters at a time from our self-obsessed protagonist and his disdainful mentor, Perry sees a larger world beyond their cloistered, narcissistic prattle. There’s an achingly beautiful performance from Mad Men’s Elisabeth Moss as the photographer girlfriend left behind, and strong work from Krysten Ritter as Pryce’s neglected daughter. Listen Up Philip finds melancholy in misanthropy, and by the time the credits roll, the funniest movie I saw all year has also become one of the saddest." ~ Sean Burns
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