George Clooney plays an aging movie star, who starts to look back at his life and his failings, esp. as a father and friend. It’s a role that fits Clooney comfortably and he inhabits it with his usual charm. Most impressive is Adam Sandler’s nuanced performance as his manager. He’s a revelation! Billy Crudup’s menu monologue is an instant cinema classic. Director Noah Baumbach, who wrote with Emily Mortimer on her first screenplay, has touches of comedy surrounding the serious encounters. He’s also added flourishes of cinematic fantasies to amplify the memory moments. This journey of personal reckoning proves sometimes amusing, often winsome, occasionally affecting and ultimately rewarding for the actor and us. 
(4.5 / 5)
