Pippa Lee is 'the perfect artist's wife' who decides one day that she no longer wishes to be an enigma. And so a rather ponderous voice over begins where Pippa tells about the highlights, and lowlights, of her life to date. This is not ironic voice over complementing what we see on screen: we see it, then she tells us what we see. It is symptomatic of a narrative that takes us right inside the protagonist's head and works in many ways as a confessional tale, and yet still manages to keep Pippa at a distance. She has unresolved issues with her mother, and there is one delicately realised fantasy scene where grown up Pippa gets to show photos of her children to her same-age mother. The acting is naturalistic without stretching those involved; only Keanu Reeves character has any real mystery. Pippa's marriage turns out to be a sham, as do her friendships. Her daughter hates her for reasons unknown, then does a 180 and loves her unreservedly - again, for reasons unknown. Here is my drab life to date, says Pippa, but it might be a bit better after the final credits roll. A strange, uninvolving little tale that seems unsure of what it wants to say.
Review of The Private Lives of Pippa Lee
