Personal Velocity Details

This second feature from playwright Arthur Miller's writer/director daughter Rebecca may lack the froth commonly associated with “chick flicks”, but it's most definitely a woman's film. Adapting her own book of short stories, Miller delivers an intellectually sophisticated soul-searcher that will strike a chord with many female viewers. The drama is split into three separate, though ultimately interconnected, segments, each dealing with a woman who has reached a turning point in her life. Kyra Sedgwick plays the battered wife who's finally had enough, Parker Posey the married book-editor suddenly liberated by her career and a typecast Fairuza Balk is the rebel forced to face adult responsibilities. Though the film isn't exactly feel-good entertainment, it's still emotionally invigorating, benefiting from an articulate script and solid, spirited performances. Miller directs with passion, making beautiful use of digital video and, while the extensive narration emphasises the movie's literary origins, it's never detrimental to the overall eloquence of the piece.

A portmanteau movie in which women take actions that change their lives, though whether for the better or worse is open to debate; sharp performances get the most out of the material.