Approaching Union Square (2006)

Synopsis
It’s no coincidence if this film reminds you of Jim Jarmusch’s Night on Earth or his more recent Coffee and Cigarettes. Filmmaker Marc Meyers admits that Jarmusch’s style was a major influence. “I set out to direct a feature using this same motif of vignettes to capture various perspectives on finding love and connection in the city I adore.” Approaching Union Square is Meyers’ first feature-length film, adapted by Meyers from his own original play “Love and Sex: Tales from the Trenches,” which developed organically from a series of character monologues that he wrote. He pointedly stays with his extended monologue format allowing the confessional nature of the dialogue to open a unique window into the character's inner-self. The film starts with an agitated woman named Dyanne (Katie Kreisler) telling her psychologist about the possibility she's psychic. Subsequently climbing on a New York City bus, she's surrounded by an “average” group of mostly thirty-something passengers who clearly don't know one another. Meyers then proceeds to delve into each of these people’s lives, somewhat reminiscent of the character flashbacks on an episode of Lost. Nathan (Darren Pettie) attends a seminar for sex addicts; giddy Stefanie (Jennifer Miranda Holmes) discusses a new boy with her friends; puffed-up Silvio (Bobby Pataki) gives a print interview; Brad (Brent Crawford) recalls his now ill ex-girlfriend. And so on, down the line. This is drama by collage and, though it may be unconventional, it proves to be effective and moving, by painting a picture of urban angst via a group of isolated people on a city bus. In the end, it is Meyers’s hope that audiences will appreciate the intimacy, self-contradiction and humor that these portraits provide.

An Interview with Marc Meyers, Jody Girgenti about Approaching Union Square
Paul interviews Marc Meyers (writer, director) and Jodi Girgenti (producer) of Approaching Union Square.
(11/17/2006 Starz Denver Film Festival)