The Private Lives of Pippa Lee

Miller has compassion for all her characters, not just Pippa Lee.....she has now written and directed a movie based on her own novel but, of course, it can't be any good.....A movie with a cast this good is rare;....an intelligent, emotional drama that's confronting, surprising, elegant and still funny.....Wright Penn so dominates the film that I was content..... ... Full Review

But the movie has an outstanding cast who give brilliant performances across the board.....shooting porn, among other things, represents one of the movie's biggest weaknesses.....Alan Arkin's Herb Lee is one of the movie's most fascinating characters....Pippa's mother, played by Maria Bello in one of her best performances, was a stepford wife kind of a woman.....Miller has a brilliant way of creating flesh-and-blood people rather than movie characters, in such things as sleepwalking.... ... Full Review

Robin Wright Penn gives one of her best performances as Pippa, the devoted wife of elderly publisher Herb (Alan Arkin).....Director Rebecca Miller has adapted her own novel into an enjoyable if episodic tale.... ... Full Review

Yet Miller's film is a triumph.....Buttressed by a formidable cast (including Winona Ryder as Pippa's neurotic friend and Monica Bellucci as Herb's first wife), Miller navigates her story between sharp satire, dark comedy and wrenching drama.....* * * * Until now, the gifted writer-director Rebecca Miller has always conveyed her spiky intelligence more effectively in print rather than on screen;....In the title role, the splendid Robin Wright Penn gets to tackle work worthy of her talents..... ... Full Review

humorous, charming, but tragic female-driven dramas go.....This film comes highly recommended....Wright Penn expertly blends Pippa's past tragedy and loneliness of her current comfortable 'retired' life with some hilariously sardonic moments....immensely absorbing new tale of self-reflection that will speak volumes for so many 'lost and taken-for-granted souls' out there.....truly amazes in a heavenly and award-winning performance as Pippa Lee, combining a beauty, grace, wisdom, fragility, and all-consuming ... Full Review

Still, there is plenty to like about the film.....Make no mistake, this is a flawed film....Her character is another example of where the film might have succumbed to silliness.... ... Full Review

the awkward satirical relationship drama.... ... Full Review

It's likely it will make a better film than book, but Miller is directing the movie so that is not a given. The Private Lives of Pippa Lee is a well-written story, with strong characters and terrific moments towards the end. ... Full Review

Wright Penn glows throughout the film, every close-up casting the gorgeous architecture of her face and hair in golden light.....Winona Ryder is perfectly, wittily cast in this role and the make-up artist has gone to great lengths to undermine her beauty.... ... Full Review

Wright Penn glows throughout the film, every close-up casting the gorgeous architecture of her face and hair in golden light.....Winona Ryder is perfectly, wittily cast in this role and the make-up artist has gone to great lengths to undermine her beauty....What Miller does succeed in conveying is the extent to which, for a woman like Pippa, house and home is a workplace, a factory floor..... ... Full Review