Fantasy Life (DVD Review)
Director
Matthew ShearRelease Date(s)
2025 (June 9, 2026)Studio(s)
Prospect Avenue/Made by Limo/AC3 Media (Greenwich Entertainment/Kino Lorber)- Film/Program Grade: B-
- Video Grade: A
- Audio Grade: A
- Extras Grade: F
Review
Fantasy Life is a charming but standard New York indie slice-of-life dramedy, very much in the vein of early Woody Allen. Written, directed and starring Matthew Shear (Noah Baumbach’s Meyerowitz Stories and Marriage Story and TNT’s The Alienist series) in his directorial debut, Fantasy Life follows Shear’s character Sam, a young law student who is suffering through mental health issues after dropping out (or because of?) who takes the job of being a “manny” to his therapist’s (Judd Hirsch) grandkids. Alessandro Nivolo plays the kids father, a musician turned tour tech who goes off on a tour leaving behind his struggling actress wife Dianne (Amanda Peet) and kids in the care of Sam who finds himself falling in some version of love with Dianne. Told over the course of a year, marked by the seasons as title cards—throughout various scenes we meet the family’s extended family played by a variable who’s who of cinema great character actors including Andrea Martin, Holland Taylor, Jessica Harper and Bob Balaban, and see how Sam’s mental state affects those around him. Not quite a love story, not an engaging or uplifting story of someone getting a hold of their mental health and certainly not as funny as it wishes it was, it’s still an enjoyable watch—mostly because of the Amanda Peet’s lovely performance.
This is a film only available on DVD and that’s okay. It’s presented at 1:66:1 and looks great. It’s a strong transfer of a movie made a year ago. Sound is offered in 5.1 surround and 2.0 stereo, and both serve well. English and Spanish subs are offered for those who wish to read along. No extras aside from Greenwich trailers for this, Come Closer, Dreams (reviewed here), Islands and Love, Brooklyn.
- Todd Doogan