Laurie Simmons might be extra famous for being Lena Dunham’s mom, but for decades she’s had a successful artistic career of her own. Now she’s returning to film in “My Art,” which follows what being an artist is like at the age of 65.
As the official synopsis, provided by The Playlist, details, “My Art” follows “Ellie Shine (Laurie Simmons)…a single artist living in New York City. Ellie has a good life: a stable teaching job, successful friends, and a loyal, aging dog named Bing. As her decades-old dream of a respectable place in the art world becomes more elusive, her frustration with her lack of recognition feels alarmingly urgent. When she is offered the summer house and studio of a famous friend she seizes the opportunity to hit the reset button on her life and work. She unwittingly finds inspiration in two out-of-work actors who maintain the gardens at her summer retreat: Frank (Robert Clohessy), a recent widower trying to reassemble his life by turning his back on a mediocre acting career, and Tom (Josh Safdie), a young, hungry actor whose wife (Parker Posey) has a less ambitious vision for their idyllic country life. Joining them is John (John Rothman), a thrice-divorced, disillusioned lawyer looking for a summer distraction. This unlikely trio helps Ellie reinvent her artistic identity by participating in her DIY art videos — improbable recreations of old Hollywood films. They accompany Ellie on an odd and unexpected journey toward finding her late-blooming artistic momentum.”
As it turns out, Simmons was inspired by her daughter to pursue film again after being away from it for years. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Simmons said that the idea for the film, “really happened when I played Siri when I was in Lena’s movie, ‘Tiny Furniture,’ because Lena was telling a story about a woman artist from a 24-year-old woman’s point of view. We are very close and very collaborative. It made me think of the portrayal of women my age on film and women artists on film and it set me off on a yearslong meditation. Scenes were coming into my mind that weren’t attached to each other. So it was a matter of writing all of those down and creating the story.”
“My Art” premiered at the Venice Film Festival earlier this week, but no word yet on a U.S. release date. Watch the trailer below.
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