Adrift in Manhattan

Aroview: Character drama set in New York where three lonely urban-types – grieving optometrist, elderly painter and obsessive photographer respectively – intersect in life-changing ways.

Themes of urban isolation and capitalist oppression are all too common in indie drama, so thankfully the ensemble cast restrain themselves from the usual woe-is-me theatrics and instead focus on moments of quiet reflection. This slow burning, slice-of-life sensibility comes at the cost of a satisfactory narrative however, and character resolutions feel rushed and ultimately insignificant. Curiously, the regularly romanticised New York as the omnipresent fourth character is treated with a cold, distant eye.