TEMPLE AND HAHN. Their Sundance-winning drama reminds viewers to count their blessings
“Be careful what you wish for.” This cautionary reminder comes to mind when you watch Sundance Best Director Jill Soloway’s “Afternoon Delight” (showing next week). By fusing hard comedy with real emotions, Soloway’s unsettling dramedy frustrates with its sulky heroine as much as it delights for the carefully calibrated portrayals of its cast:
To spice up her sexless marriage, stay-at-home mom Rachel (Kathryn Hahn) persuades her busy husband, Jeff (Josh Radnor), to visit a strip club—and ends up adopting sex worker McKenna (Juno Temple) as her 5-year-old son’s live-in nanny!
Sexual exploits
Indeed, McKenna injects a dose of adrenaline into her restless employer’s comfortable but uneventful life. Rachel secretly gets a kick out of the danger and excitement provided by the sexual exploits of her ward—she even conveniently ignores the red flags that pop up the first time the stripper steps into her household.
If you think Rachel’s reckless decision doesn’t bode well for a healthy and happy home life, you’re right! The film, which dwindles as its denouement is drawn out listlessly, demonstrates how an irresponsible act can degenerate into a tragedy that affects not just Rachel, but also everyone around her—and threatens to take away everything she holds dear in life! It also reminds viewers to count their blessings.
Soloway explores relationships at an age when people are “highly wired,” yet emotionally disconnected. She shares, “I was driven by the idea of a female protagonist who is a screw-up. We’re used to seeing the Seth Rogens and Jack Blacks of the industry portraying adorable but nebbish leads.
“It’s frustrating to see studio films presenting my entire gender as ‘beautiful, perfect and interested in making only the right choices in life.’ This movie aims to remind us that women also want emotional honesty and the rawness and ‘relatability’ of human flaws!”