Liars and Saints

  Jesse Eisenberg has been studying the work of Kenneth Longergan--which is a smart choice. No script comes within spitting distance of "You Can Count on Me." Lonergan's wonderful story concerns troubled siblings who reunite after years of estrangement. Both siblings have difficulties with boundaries. The tension grows until a rupture occurs; although it's clear that these two people love each other, it's maybe for the best if one lives on Mars, sending letters now and then, keeping a distance. Jesse Eisenberg's new movie doesn't have (a) Kenneth Lonergan's wit, (b) Kenneth Lonergan's understanding of plotting and suspense, (c) Lonergan's eye for detail and his ability to create "organic" shifts in tone, (d) Lonergan's sense of economy, his way of saying only what needs to be said. But why not borrow from the greats? If you're choosing a role model, choose Kenneth Lonergan. The favored Lonergan topic is a pairing of adults who...

 I like to think about the mechanics of plot; I'm going to suggest something here. One of my favorite stories is "Floating Bridge," by Alice Munro. In this story, a woman believes she is dying of cancer. In a way, she welcomes the news; she is frozen within her life, and she is tied to a guy with a roving eye, a guy who tends to belittle her. Halfway through the story, she is upset to learn that her cancer is actually in remission--and she will have to live. It's in a phase of deep bitterness that she meets a man on the road; the man eventually kisses her. She is startled by her own moment of adultery; she finds herself looking at life in a new way, with "tender hilarity." She laughs at the ridiculousness of her own problems; we last see her bobbing awkwardly on a floating bridge. What I like in the story is that we're led to think we'll get a big answer: Will the heroine stay with or leave her spouse? But that's not actually crucial. What is cru...