The Private Lives of Pippa Lee (2009)

After her much older husband forces a move to a suburban retirement community, Pippa Lee engages in a period of reflection and finds herself heading toward a quiet nervous breakdown.

Director:

Rebecca Miller

Writers:

Rebecca Miller (screenplay), Rebecca Miller (book)

Stars:

Robin Wright, Alan Arkin, Mike Binder

1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robin Wright	...	Pippa Lee (as Robin Wright Penn)
Mike Binder	...	Sam Shapiro
Alan Arkin	...	Herb Lee
Winona Ryder	...	Sandra Dulles
Ryan McDonald	...	Ben Lee
Cornel West	...	Don Sexton
Maria Bello	...	Suky Sarkissian
Arnie Burton	...	Doctor
Tim Guinee	...	Des Sarkissian
Drew Beasley	...	Chester Sarkissian, 6
Madeline McNulty	...	Young Pippa, 7
Beckett Melville	...	Chester Sarkissian, 13
Zoe Kazan	...	Grace Lee
Billy Wheelan	...	Waiter
Shirley Knight	...	Dot Nadeau

Storyline

Pippa Lee feels dislocated when she and her husband Herb move from Manhattan to a retirement community. He's older than she, they have two children who are young adults, and the daughter hardly speaks to Pippa. Pippa tells us about her life, in long flashbacks, starting with her birth to a mom who was a social dynamo and addicted to pills. As a teen, Pippa moves out and lives a hippie life until meeting Herb, who was then married to a young siren. Pippa discloses tragedies and discoveries. In the present, she's sleepwalking at night and talking from time to time with a burned-out case, the 35-year-old son of a neighbor. Can Pippa connect?

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Plot Keywords:

retirement | older man younger woman relationship | sleepwalking | moodiness | voice over narration | 

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Taglines:

The life you love may be your own.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexual content, brief nudity, some drug material and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [France] Official site [Japan]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 July 2009 (UK)

Also Known As:

A Vida Íntima de Pippa Lee

Filming Locations:

USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$89,950, 29 November 2009

Gross USA:

$337,356

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,777,499

Company Credits

Production Co:

Grand Army Entertainment, IM Global, Lumina Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min 93 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Though they don't interact in this film, Winona Ryder and Keanu Reeves appeared in Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) as a couple.

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Quotes

Chris Nadeau: What are you thinking?
Pippa Lee: I was just thinking that you seem like...
Chris Nadeau: What?
Pippa Lee: ...Just that you seem, you seem so bright.
Pippa Lee: It's a pity you never settled on any real work. It would make your life so much easier.
Chris Nadeau: Okay. Well, thank you...
Pippa Lee: I didn't mean to offend you.
Chris Nadeau: I suggest that you go back to that little life you've puffed up for yourself. I'm sure you're very happy underneath all that anxiety.
Pippa Lee: You're right. You know, you... you are an asshole.
Chris Nadeau: Told you.

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Connections

Referenced in Biography: Winona Ryder (2008)

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Soundtracks

That's All I Want
Written by Robert Byrd
Performed by Bobby Day
Courtesy of Lynn Adajian
By Arrangement with Ace Music Services LLC

User Reviews

A white suburban bedroom in a white suburban town

Remember Lucy Jordan? The tragic heroine of Shel Silverstein's 1975 ballad immortalized by Marianne Faithful? Think of this fabulous movie as of Lucy Jordan's life set in an alternate universe, a universe in which she doesn't kill herself at 37. Rather, she rides out her life as a radiant wife and a loving mother of two. Pippa Lee (Robin Wright Penn) is about ten years older than Lucy Jordan at her time of dying. But her father-figure husband (Alan Arkin), many years her senior, isn't getting any younger, her kids are distant both physically and emotionally, and her friends are really not much help at all. As Pippa starts to lose it, a stranger (Keanu Reeves) comes to town. Writer-director Rebecca Miller, who is also an actress of some distinction, has composed an engaging tale that is touching, but never cheesy. There's a moment in one of the flashbacks when the story is about to take a Charlie Kaufman turn, but it doesn't. No regrets though. Outstanding performances by Robin Wright Penn as Pippa Lee, Blake Lively as her younger self, and Maria Bello as her mother. Guest appearance by Winona Ryder as Pippa's best friend Sandra. Stay for Lucinda Williams, whose 1978 classic "I lost it" is playing over the credits.