Pearl

Be careful what you wish for—especially if it involves your handsome co-worker leaving his wife for you. In writer-director Rebecca Miller’s sophisticated screwball comedy, college administrator Maggie (indie ingénue Greta Gerwig) gets more than she bargained for when she falls in love with a charming, married writer on her faculty (Ethan Hawke). Maggie thinks she’s found happily- ever-after when John shows up on her doorstep, professing his love and readiness to leave his cold, academic wife (Julianne Moore). But storybook romances aren’t always what they seem, as Maggie soon discovers. With flawlessly funny performances by the leads, crackling Woody Allen-style wit, and terrific cameos from Bill Hader and Maya Rudolph, you won’t find a more subversive or winsome romantic comedy at the festival.

Be careful what you wish for—especially if it involves your handsome co-worker leaving his wife for you. In writer-director Rebecca Miller’s sophisticated screwball comedy, college administrator Maggie (indie ingénue Greta Gerwig) gets more than she bargained for when she falls in love with a charming, married writer on her faculty (Ethan Hawke). Maggie thinks she’s found happily- ever-after when John shows up on her doorstep, professing his love and readiness to leave his cold, academic wife (Julianne Moore). But storybook romances aren’t always what they seem, as Maggie soon discovers. With flawlessly funny performances by the leads, crackling Woody Allen-style wit, and terrific cameos from Bill Hader and Maya Rudolph, you won’t find a more subversive or winsome romantic comedy at the festival.

These hilarious and touching stories are about men, women, parents, children, best friends, and the humor that comes from navigating these day-to-day relationships, from age seven to seventy. Set in the family hatchback, “Pearl” tells the life story of a father and daughter using striking animation and music; Danny DeVito directs and stars in “Curmudgeons” about two senior citizens whose relationship shocks their families; a big-hearted stranger turns an accidental pet death into a little girl’s adventure in “Madam Black;” two septuagenarians manifest their petty judgments of others into a darkly comical plan in “Ernestine & Kit;” and a father’s attempt to share a harsh reality with his daughter backfires uproariously in “The Talk.”