Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/877064
38 DGA QUARTERLY A R R I N G C O U P L E S and their castaway offspring constitute a staple of Hollywood dating back to the '30s and beyond. But in the current multiplex cartooniverse, truly intimate stories are seeming- ly being hunted to extinction. That doesn't mean, however, that intri- cate psychological dramas and character-driven comedies that examine the family dynamic—the kind of fare in which nuance rules over scale and painful, everyday truths are revealed—aren't still emerging with increasing honesty and distinction. Filmmakers like Woody Allen, Nicole Holofcener, Noah Baumbach, Mike Mills and Lisa Cholodenko have certainly made sure of that. "Of course, I want my next movie to be playing on the big screen, in theaters," says Holofcener, referring to her brand of storytelling for which theatrical windows appear to be narrowing by the week. W LIKE SCRAPPY FIGHTERS, INTIMATE FAMILY DRAMAS ABOUT WAYWARD PARENTS AND THEIR DAMAGED KIDS CONTINUE TO ASSERT THEIR PLACE AT THE BIG-SCREEN TABLE BY F. X . F E E N E Y Dysfunction Junction Holofcener is in the midst of mixing and color-timing her forth- coming film, The Land of Steady Habits, which is being rolled out by Netflix sometime next year. Holofcener has made her name with such critical darlings as Lovely and Amazing (2001), centering around a matriarch and her three insecure daughters, and Please Give (2010), another ensem- ble comedy/drama that tells the parallel stories of two families and deals with the kind of everyday issues many urbanites grapple with: value systems that divide the haves and have nots, body image and romantic fulfillment, among others. In her latest effort, named for a lushly suburban stretch of Connecticut its inhabitants have dubbed "the land of steady habits," Holofcener's protagonist—played by Ben Mendelsohn—is a man who has diligently embodied that quiet, prosperous lifestyle. Until, as his son reaches college age, he overthrows his old life, to chaotic effect. "This movie is dark and sad," she says, "and though it does have hu- mor in it, [it] would be a really tough sell, I think, in this market. It's not a broad comedy. It's not filled with huge stars. They're not—yet—