Peeking into the lives of New Yorkers, the complex comedy tackles the issues of artistic ambition, youthful arrogance and middle-aged regrets.
Anger rages in Philip as he awaits the publication of his sure-to-succeed second novel. He feels pushed out of his adopted home city by the constant crowds and noise, a deteriorating relationship with his photographer girlfriend Ashley, and his own indifference to promoting the novel. When Philip’s idol, Ike Zimmerman, offers his isolated summer home as a refuge, he finally gets the peace and quiet to focus on his favourite subject—himself.
»One of the first things I wanted to build the movie around was this sense of hero worship and idolatry. You see Phillip sort of become the monster Ike is and he doesn’t even realize it. Philip just sees the monster as this cool guy with the nice country house and all this success and that’s all he wants. I wanted to show the sort of blind ambition that people are incapable of shutting off. When they get the glory that’s all they see and keep all eyes on the prize.« (Alex Ross Perry)
Alex Ross Perry
Born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, in 1984. He attended the Tisch School of the Arts at the New York University. His debut feature film, Impolex, premiered at the CineVegas Film Festival in 2009. Listen Up Philip is his third film.