Charlie Kaufman’s latest is so good it induces separation anxiety.
The US writer-turned-director has found a new avatar in Jessie Buckley, and she channels his nervous energy with such sweaty and waspish intensity that it’s traumatic when the credits start to roll and you realise even post-modern comedies about the impossibility of ending things must, eventually, come to a close.
Buckley is an American poet, called Lucy. Or is she? As in all of Kaufman’s best work, the line between people and puppets is blurred. The character (like Kaufman himself) has a disarming smile, fine bones and clown-red curly hair. She and her lumpen boyfriend, Jake (Jesse Plemons), are off to Oklahoma, to meet his loopy parents (Toni Collette and David Thewlis).
Buckley’s character will also be shown around Jake’s old school and served a milkshake by girls who may once have been mean to him. There’s a twist and, even if you see it coming, you won’t feel cheated. You get the feeling that, age 61, Kaufman is still learning new tricks.
Netflix
