The film version of local writer Caren Lissner’s coming-of-age novel Carrie Pilby had audiences laughing and applauding during its five screenings at the prestigious Toronto International Film Festival last week. Fans of the film have already taken to Twitter and other social media to respond to it and ask when they can see it in wider release.
The romantic comedy, directed by Susan Johnson and starring Bel Powley, Nathan Lane, Gabriel Byrne, and Vanessa Bayer, was selected as one of 34 “Special Presentations” at the festival. The first public showing of the film was before an audience of 1,200, who asked questions of the director and actors after the film.
Lissner said she was overwhelmed by the audience response both at the festival and on social media afterward. “I’ve never heard an audience laugh out loud so many times during a movie, and I’ve seen a lot of comedies,” she said. “Susan Johnson, along with the producers and screenwriter Kara Holden, did a fabulous job adapting the story to the big screen.”
The film follows Carrie, a 19-year-old genius who has graduated from college early and is mystified by how to date and socialize in New York City, particularly without the structure of academia to guide her. As a result, her therapist, Dr. Petrov (Nathan Lane), gives the booksmart young woman a new structure: a six-point checklist to get out and meet people. She tackles it in her own Carrie-like way with amusing results, meeting a slew of characters who challenge her rigid moral code. As a teenager who thinks she knows everything, the biggest thing she learns is that she still has a lot to learn.
The festival concluded Sunday evening, Sept. 18. Filmmakers often premiere new movies at film festivals before scheduling a wider release.
An early review in the Guardian gave the film four stars, calling it an “ambitious, upbeat and surprising comedy” and noting, “This is, ultimately, a very happy and upbeat film, and one with a very clear moral center.” A viewer on Twitter wrote after the second screening, “A perfect blend of emotions and laughter on a messy search for objectively-defined happiness.”
Watch for a bigger story later this year.