Maggie's Plan

Maggie's Plan has a refreshing premise. Maggie is an adviser who wants to become a mother. The film starts with her talking to her friend about artificial insemination and finding a viable candidate for what she wanted. She wanted to have a child, and she didn't want to wait for it in a traditional sense. When a mix-up at her school occurs, she meets John Harding, an anthropology professor who is renowned, but lives in the shadow of his more successful wife, Georgette. When Maggie and John strike up a friendship, culminating to a confession that they had feelings for each other. Three years later, that confession had turned to a marriage, with Maggie feeling that she may have made a mistake in entering a union with John. Seeing as how John and Georgette were still friendly to each other, she concocts a plan to get the exes back together.

It would be easy if the movie just veered to Maggie plotting and scheming to get the exes back and maybe have some deeper character development for herself, but it didn't. Instead, it puts a character behind Georgette's cold demeanor, paints the feebleness and indecisiveness of John, and shows Maggie's relationship between the two of them. In a situation like theirs, one would expect that Maggie and Georgette wouldn't get along or stand being in the same room as each other, but there was none of that. There wasn't anything stereotypical in this movie when it came to relationships. The movie also goes on its way to show the bond between John and Georgette; with family duties aside, they complimented each other very well.

My primary issue was that because the movie focused on other aspects besides Maggie, she didn't have much development of her own considering she is the lead of the film. However, it showed that Maggie was unapologetic with what she wanted. She was no longer happy being in the relationship, she had instincts that maybe her husband was still lost with her, and she decided to do something about it. Georgette explicitly points out that Maggie could be controlling, but when a character is used to doing so many things on her own, was she really controlling? I guess in the grand scheme of things Maggie could be seen as manipulative, but she just acted on what she saw in front of her. 

Greta Gerwig was great in the role. In a way, the role fit her like a glove. I'm so used to her playing characters who themselves are lost, but this was a woman who does have her wits together. It does seem like a character that she would portray well - a bit lost, but is being an adult about it. Ethan Hawke and Julianne Moore were also great as well, although Moore's accent work is a bit off-putting. Although having limited screen time, Maya Rudolf and Bill Hader's presence was welcoming to the film.

I like how this was written. It's not something that I have seen before, and it has been great watching how things turned out for them. It did have its characters compartmentalized into their own sphere, but the performances made it more than that. I enjoyed the movie much more than I thought; it was entertaining and funny.