Personal Velocity (2001)

Three Interesting Cinematic Short Stories.

In Personal Velocity, we encounter three women: Delia, Greta, and Paula. Delia is a middle-of-the-pack woman who's recently left her abusive husband, relocated far from his violent subjugation, and found work as a waitress at a restaurant owned by a man who's seedy son eyes her over like another meal. Greta is a metropolitan wife who, despite living the life any woman would fancy, is finding herself discontented and on the verge of leaving her loving husband. Paula, who is featured in the third story, picks up a young male hitchhiker on a rainy day with good intentions but finds that the chance encounter was much more than a random occurrence, and that the divine might be behind the entire event.

This film is highly entertaining, and what's more, it gives us just enough to be satisfied without overrunning its plot into the ground. Right about the time we're ready to be done with one of the stories, a new tale flashes upon the screen and we're once again engaged in a new little ditty.

Final verdict: a very entertaining film about the lives of three women that while I cannot recommend to everyone, I do recommend to the independent film crowd out there who prefers character-driven stories with solid acting and strong plotlines. July 7, 2008

Three women fighting against the tide

They made one of the vignettes right down the road from me and I never knew it! The story with Kyra was made in Rosendale, NY, about ten minutes from me. Who knew? That's the little gifts you get when you're anal about reading the end credits. Celebration done. Review time. One very erotic moment with Parker Posey having some "me" time and several quasi erotic moments with Kyra Sedgewick having some "us" times. Fairuza was great in her perma-goth role and had a really touching event to deal with. I'm a fan of all three women so this was a big win for me. The drama was rich across the board. I felt Kyra's despair, Posie's anxious discontent, and Fairuza being Fairuza. Three women up against it and coming out on top, more or less. If you're a fan of drama and the struggle of life, then don't hesitate to add this one to your collection. April 2, 2008

Three Women Travelling at the Speed of Life.

Personal Velocity: Three Portraits is an adaptation of Rebecca Miller's collection of short stories, Personal Velocity. (The film was the Grand Jury Prize winner at Sundance 2002.) Miller is a director, screenwriter and actress. She is also the daughter of famed playwright Arthur Miller (Death of a Salesman) and the wife of acclaimed actor Daniel Day-Lewis. As the film's title suggests, Personal Velocity is an "arthouse film" (shot in digital video) about three women whose lives are in transition (velocity is the rate of change of position). Delia (Kyra Sedgwick) is a sweet yet resilient woman who flees from an abusive marriage with her children to reclaim the sexual power she has lost. Greta (Parker Posey) is an ambitious book editor who leaves her uninspired husband (a fact-checker at the New Yorker) to pursue her own professional aspirations. Paula (Fairuza Balk) is on the run with a young hitchhiker following a tragic incident on a New York street. All three women have problems with men (difficult fathers, abusive or unambitious husbands, dates motivated only by lust). All three actresses bring compelling performances to Miller's film in three parts. Each bittersweet part stands alone; but as a trilogy each offers a small epiphany that resonates with the others.

G. Merritt March 31, 2008

I've found me another wonderful segmented film.

I don't know why there are so many attempts at this sort of films: individual episodes that approach and overlap the same concept. Perhaps it is because it is easier to craft episodes with power rather than worry about an arc of 90 minutes or more.

But we do have them and some work amazingly well. This movie is the story of three woman, told in separate segments. Each of the characters has to some extent engaged in self-delusion as to who they really are as persons and each one finds herself in the midst of a major life crisis. As each character deals with their situation, they begin to find out who they really are as persons and to find a possible path to self liberation, happiness and fulfillment in their lives. Delia (Kyra Sedgwick) is an abused wife and mother, who finds personal liberation by finding the courage to finally leave her abusive husband, and then finds her personal dignity and power by rediscovering her sexuality. Greta (Parker Posey), is a wife and daughter, who has long suffered, first by being caught in the middle in a struggle between her powerful, ambitious father and her weaker, more fragile mother for her love and affection, then later in an act of rebellion against her father, ends up in a loving but passionless marriage in which she has suppressed all her own personal ambitions. An opportunity for success rekindles in her all her own passions and ambition, as she struggles to finally break free from the influence of her parents, to come to terms with her husband and marriage and to be who she really is as a person. Paula (Fairuza Balk) is a young woman, who finds herself pregnant and who after a terrible accident, in a state of shock starts out on a journey to try and escape and make sense of what is happening to her. An encounter with an abused runaway helps her refocus on her own plight and discover her own ability to care about others besides her self.

All the acting in the film is excellent, but Parker Posey as Greta really stands out. This is the first film that makes use of Parker's ability as an actress to convey emotion and internal conflict, without dialog, simply by the expression on her beautiful face, and it is absolutely stunning to watch. She turns Greta, who could have been very unsympathetic, into a character that one can care about. This is very intelligent and very complex film. One that makes the viewer think deeply. There are no tight, neatly wrapped up endings in this movie, you have no way of knowing if the characters have made the right choices in their lives. This makes it tough for audiences and critics to embrace this movie, but if you do look deeply at it, and think about it, you will come to appreciate and love it.
April 12, 2007

In their own direction, at their own speed

Three short stories of very different young women. Each story takes enough time to develop a character and show an arc of personal change that gives a sense of something significant having happened while still leaving the future open. The theme of personal development not only in a particular speed and direction, the "velocity" of the title, but also from a very particular place and in reaction to particular events, tie the stories together. The main characters are portrayed in situations that may make us question their choices, past or present, but they aren't judged.

I agree with the other positive reviews. It's an unusual film, real, insightful, absorbing, raw, sophisticated but not pretentious, compelling, thought provoking. The film also looks unusual, incorporating some edgy photography, occasional freeze-frames and staccato editing of action and stills, but not so much as to become tedious or lose its freshness. The casting and direction are pitch perfect. November 12, 2006

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