It hasnt ever produced any notable hits or stars and remains a distinctly film school branch of cinema.
His one and only commitment is looking after Mahler, the family dog.
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Greenberg also hooks up with an old friend, Ivan (Rhys Ifans).
The easy going Ivan acts a similar foil for Greenberg as Florence does.
Greenbergis a film in which quite a lot happens, but in a haphazard, patchwork way.
And nothing comes to fulfilment.
Things happen suddenly the dog is taken sick, for example but then fade away.
And there are no interlinking moments that draw plot strands together.
In a way, this is to mirror the random purposelessness of life.
There is no grand plan drawing us together, just people mooching around, doing stuff to get by.
It is certainly a downbeat film.
While not quite an anti-hero, Greenberg is a highly cynical misanthrope.
He is a compulsive letter of complaint writer.
Her Florence is so perfectly pitched it seems as if shes not even acting at all.
Florence is vulnerable because she doesnt care.
Shes just another average person whose dreams outweigh her hopes.
But far from feeling sorry for herself, she allows her lackadaisical but can do attitude to define her.
A quick mention should go to the score by James Murphy, of ultra-hip band LCD Soundsystem fame.
Its pretty essential that these sort of high quirk alt movies have a cool rocknroll soundtrack to match.
An enquired taste then, maybe, but one that can also be savoured.
Rating:
3 out of 5
