Nancy, Please (2012)

Directed by: Andrew Semans
Country: USA

Review: Andrew Semans’ debut feature film “Nancy, Please” shapes an intense story of obsession and paranoia that was never inconvenient or wearisome. An agreeable surprise that owes its success to the resolute performance by Will Rogers, an actor with experience gained in TV series, well accompanied here by Eleonore Hendricks and Rebecca Lawrence. The central character is Paul (Rogers), a PhD candidate at Yale University, whose confidence and creativity strangely disappeared when he moved to a new house with his new girlfriend Jen (Hendricks). After an ultimatum to finish his dissertation, Paul becomes obsessed with his former roommate Nancy (Lawrence) and with the retrieval of “Little Dorrit” by Charles Dickens, an old book containing important notes for his work, which he had forgotten in her place. With an incredibly simple plot, Semans created an atmospheric drama of unchangeable tones and with a sort of weirdness associated that sometimes left me wondering if all the situations presented were real. Punctuated with dark humor, “Nancy, Please” drew a penetrating character study that risked to take a few scenes to the extreme or even close to ridiculousness. But in the end, the sensation was positive and I almost felt relieved when Paul, already with his career and relationship ruined, could have some solace and rest.