Fantasy Life

An audience award winner at SXSW, Fantasy Life is a dramedy by actor-turned-director Matthew Shear, known for his roles in Old and Marriage Story. Shear also stars as Sam, a thirtysomething New Yorker plagued by panic attacks, OCD, internalized antisemitism, and probably a few other not-uncommon afflictions in his city. After losing his job, he receives a strange but welcome offer from his therapist’s wife: to become a nanny for her grandchildren. With nothing left to lose, Sam soon finds himself in the elegant home of actress Dianne (Amanda Peet) and musician David (Alessandro Nivola), a couple clearly stuck in a marital rough patch that’s begun to affect their children. Though Sam unexpectedly connects with the three unruly daughters, complications arise when he begins to fall under the spell of Dianne herself, who is warm-hearted but burdened in her own way. In telling this offbeat story, Fantasy Life delves into mental health, substance use, aging, and the professional frustrations that come with public-facing careers. Both Shear and Peet, who delivers what may be the most compelling performance of her career, know this territory all too well.