USA : Sundance favorite 'Flannel Pajamas' offers a unique look at love between two New Yorkers juggling the pressures of everyday life.

'Flannel Pajamas,' a new independent film directed by Jeff Lipsky, realistically explores the intertwining lives of two New Yorkers in love despite their different backgrounds and personal issues. The film garnered rave reviews at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival in Park City Utah, where it was praised for its subtle dialogue and character development and compared to indie film pioneer John Cassavettes' body of work. "Many people afterwards just felt like part of this movie, it's so intimate and so raw that they feel like they shouldn't be watching which I think is actually a huge compliment, if you're creating a world that people feel like they're really intruding upon," said actress Julianne Nicholson, who plays Nicole in 'Flannel Pajamas.' "My friend said to me 'that was great, if I wanted to go through that kind of crap I'd sit home with my wife, something like that, which I think is great," adds actor Justin Kirk, who plays Stuart in 'Flannel Pajamas.'" "I had a friend who said it was like a horror film of the heart, so there's a lot there," said Julianne Nicholson. The film begins on a rainy April night, as two 30-something New Yorkers meet for a blind date at a local diner. It's a magical evening for both Stuart and Nicole as they make an instant connection among a group of friends that set them up. Stuart is seemingly confident, with a high-powered Broadway job that makes full use of his fast-talking smarts, yet clearly lonely and desperately eager for love. Younger and still finding her way, Nicole is naturally more reticent, coping with city life far from her large and eccentric Montana family. As the two begin their relationship, they learn a lot about each other's past and realize that there is much more to a marriage than just two people. They both must learn to cope with the strains of life: starting a family, career, critical friends, and emotionally demanding family members. "Not everybody has such extremes happening in their life, like suicide and Alzheimer's and things like that, but I think, what I love about the movie is all these issues are brought up, but they're brought up as part of these people's stories. It's not to have a big message of any one of these things, they're sort of, you have to pay attention to even really notice them because they're brought up in an almost easy way. But I think everyone has stuff going on in their life -- you meet somebody and you have this idea of who they are and depending on what their job is and how you know them, but they have a whole life going on that we know nothing about," said Nicholson. This is the second feature film for Lipsky, who took a candid look at adolescence in the first film he wrote and directed, 1997's 'Childhood's End.' He always planned to make movies but began in the business with stints at New Yorker Films, Samuel Goldwyn Films and Skouras Pictures. Along the way, he also co-founded two indie distributors, October Films and Lot 47, that allowed him to champion cutting-edge filmmakers. He drew from his own experiences when writing the screenplay for 'Flannel Pajamas' by looking back at his courtship with and subsequent divorce from his wife. The result is an extremely conversational and unflinchingly honest film that shows a couple can fall in love quickly, only to realize that their marriage is slowly dying for the smallest of reasons. "I think our movie is different than any movie that's ever debuted," says Justin Kirk. "Not just this year," adds Julianne Nicholson. "I like it the more that I see it, and I also realize the more that I see it how strange it is, which is what I like, and I like to embrace it. It really completely goes to the beat of its own drum, as they say," says Justin Kirk. "It's a way of looking at a relationship that you just don't see when you go to the theaters, and it was extremely exciting to be a part of something like that, and it's exciting to watch it. It's sometimes hard to watch," says Julianne Nicholson. 'Flannel Pajamas' opened in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago in November, and will wait until the New Year before opening in other key cities. ENDS

ITN Source | December 7, 2006

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