Liberal Arts

Having started college as an opera major and ending it in the English department, this film resonated with me. Josh Radnor brings to life a wonderful mixture of literature, music, and heavy conversation in Liberal Arts, his second Sundance break-out hit.

Jesse is an alumnus of Kenyon College in Ohio. He is asked by a former professor to come back for a retirement dinner that he is having.  It is there that he falls for the 19-year-old daughter of the professor’s colleagues. This isn’t a viable attraction since he is nearly thirty-five and finding it hard to let go of the college life.

 This story shined a light on the difficulty of leaving a phase of your life you did well.  For some that phase has already passed.  For others it is just beginning.  For Jesse, that phase was college.

Josh Radnor and Elizabeth Olsen have some serious chemistry as the two bring their characters to life with what can only be described as pure ease. Radnor pretty much clicks with everyone in the film as he portrays a character that is so personable yet standoffish—he plays up the ambiguity of his desire in life.  He’s flailing, but he does it I style. Allison Janney steals the show as another former professor, bringing out the cynical side of not being able to let go of a high point.

Throughout the film Jesse deals with the “what do I do now?” question that many college graduates feel post graduation.  It is a unique coming-of-age tale for both Jesse and the professor, ultimately showing that we’ve all had that feeling of uncertainty, of not knowing whether or not the choices we make are the right ones.  But at the end of the day, the important thing to remember is that if you never try and fail, you will never succeed. It’s all going to be okay.  Liberal Arts puts that concept into high perspective, giving us all the chance to grow up.

Liberal Arts is playing in the non-competitive Premiere category.