Nov. 05--Amy Koppelman describes the protagonist of her 2008 novel "I Smile Back" as one woman's preemptive strikes against her loved ones who may, she fears, find out what she's risking every day of her desperate life.
The film version of "I Smile Back" stars Sarah Silverman as the woman in question, Laney Brooks. At its most familiar, director Adam Salky's modest, concentrated adaptation, working from a script by Paige Dylan and Koppelman, falls into the category of suburban-malaise narratives, where the cushy trappings of a privileged existence act as ironic commentary for someone's inner torment.
But Silverman's scarily good in this role -- sick-joke-funny when the behavior supports it, raw yet subtle at Laney's most reckless junctures. While it's a cliche to praise a performance requiring some harsh, fairly explicit on-screen behavior and interactions, Silverman's doing the opposite of grandstanding here.
Early on we see Laney picking up takeout at the local Chinese joint, and sneaking a quick drink at the bar. "What took you so long?" asks Laney's husband, Bruce, played by Josh Charles. He knows something's up. Her spouse shrewdly delineates the behavior of someone who's empathetic one minute, steely in his disappointment the next.
Bruce sells insurance and, from the looks of their big house and big SUV, a lot of it. Laney, without enough of a life outside the contours of Wife and Mother, finds solace in some dangerous places. She races ahead to her next assignation and next snort of cocaine with her lover (Thomas Sadoski), a fellow parent at her kids' school. Then it's on to another boozy truth-telling session at an excruciating dinner party.
"I Smile Back" is about longing, and its best scenes dig beneath the surface of Laney's day-to-day to-do list to explore the reasons she's pushing herself over the nearest available cliff. Terry Kinney has a couple of effective, relaxed scenes with Silverman as her rehab counselor. The rehab is tough going. The final scene in Salky's film has no equivalent in the novel, and it brings Laney to her lowest point ever, without giving up on the maternal instincts she has forsaken in the name of indulging her addictions.
Many films about addicts become nothing more than a series of illustrated screw-ups. "I Smile Back" can't entirely shake that limitation. When we arrive at a key scene between Laney and her estranged father (Chris Sarandon), it's a little facile -- an explanation rather than a messy, revealing slice of a messy life. But Silverman handles it superbly all the same, playing three or more notes at once: cynicism, fear, hurt, volatility. The comic-turned-actress' dramatic instincts transcend the material. If the results end up showcasing the probing excellence of the lead performance, so be it.
Phillips is a Tribune critic.
mjphillips@tribpub.com
"I Smile Back" -- 3 stars
MPAA rating: R (for strong sexual content, substance abuse/disturbing behavior, and language)
Running time: 1:25
Opens: Friday
