Perhaps the title of this Toronto Film Festival premiere says it all. Magazine is a period piece set in a pre-digital world as the long proud tradition of print publications is about to end in favor of quick hits and screen-reading in a new and strange universe ruled by social media, not the once smart and thriving intellecual world of New York City publishing. It is this period circa 2011 that debuting feature filmmaker Alexandra Pechman tackles here in a style reminiscent of movies made by Whit Stillman, some influences of Noah Baumbach, but I would go back even to 1977’s now nostalgic look at a struggling indie Boston newspaper, Joan Micklin Silver’s Between The Lines.
There are echoes of all of them in this slight but well-cast story of the monthly New Yorker-lite magazine called Platen, a safe place for authors with audacious stories to tell, ruled by a staff of bright psuedo-elitists that viewed now look like a tribe long ago and far away. That it has been just 15 years since the setting of this movie, only shows how far we have – and haven’t – come in a rapidly-paced environment that no longer stops to smell the roses, that values content over Kindel, words over hits.
The focus of Pechman, though is all on the fresh faced, eager, non-paid summer interns getting their first taste of the then-real world of niche publications, because that is what Platen is all about. As in any movie like this we have our protagonist, Nora (Lily McInerny) as she stands eagerly in front of the building, checking her watch, careful not to be exactly on time for her first day as an intern. She clearly has visions of belonging in this place, and whatever college preparation there was, this is the real deal. She is welcomed by other interns including the warm and fun Tabitha (Shrinking’s Lupita Maxwell), and nerdy Leonard (a funny Daniel Zolghadri), along with the more colorful Daphne (Iris Apatow). And then at the corner desk in front there is the guy who clearly sets his sights on Nora almost immediately, editorial assistant Thomas (Joshuah Melnick), the kind of Lothario who eyes his prey instantly, although we don’t quite know that yet. We will.
Lily finds out soon as she ends up in Thomas’ bed in no time, a new relationship that probably isn’t such a wise move for a young woman whose big hope is that a prized position might open up at Platen during her time there. She proves proficient at copy reading, correcting mistakes, menial work, but is it enough to stand out? Pechman sets this all up between the various characters, each with hopes of getting the gig that doesn’t yet exist, and then soon brings in the lively Greer (Ruby Cruz) to add to the mix as she and the others vie for the job that does eventually surface. She and Nora become friends but it is clear Greer may be a stronger candidate than any of them.
Lording over everything is Mickey (an amusing Jake Lacy), the publisher who offers wisdom to the newbies like, “a magazine is like a snapshot of a single moment in time, and then its gone”. It is a prophetic line considering how fast the world is leaving this kind of enterprise behind. Beyond the competition for full time employment and the unfortunate sexual advances of Thomas (this is all clearly pre #MeToo) and the subplot of that relationship, what we have is a group of young hopefuls getting their first taste of a world they would very much like to live in permanently. Not all of them will, but you have the feeling this bunch, especially Nora, will find their own path after a memorable summer and a taste of the realities of being a tiny fish swimming upstream in the big city. In the meantime why not just dance?
Pechman has made a handsome looking well apointed film for her first feature, one that in style feels oddly out of time as much as the subject matter does. What it undoubtedly will be remembered for is its engaging young cast. It is nice to know this kind of indepedently made small slice of life is still getting financed. It is like a little antidote to The Devil Wears Prada, but it works on its own modest terms.
Producers are Pechman, Anne Alexander, Tess Cohen.
Cast: Lily McInerny, Lukita Maxwell, Joshuah Melnick, Iris Apatow, Ruby Cruz, Daniel Zolghadri, AnnaSophia Robb, Delaney Rowe, Jake Lacy, Sasha Bhasin, and Alex Edelman
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