NYC, 1979: Gabriel and Annie's marriage is falling apart with only their daughter holding it together. Gabriel quits his architect job to become a playwright, writing about his life. Annie and Liz leave.
Gabriel Richmond (Timothy Hutton) is a man who on the surface has it all-successful professional life as an architect, a beautiful wife, Annie (Dana Delany), and a devoted young daughter, Elizabeth (India Ennenga). But slowly it dawns on him that he is not really happy. Gabriel decides that he wants to write a play about the sorry state of his life. He quits his job, gets a pushy literary agent friend to represent him, and starts writing. Although his marriage ends in a divorce, the play is a success and although his life is different than it was, he is happier.—Brooks Branch
This movie tells the story of Gabriel Richmond (Timothy Hutton), a man in his late forties, who is a successful architect. He begins questioning his life choices, which ultimately turns into an art form, as he goes from architect to playwright, examining his own life.—Brooks Branch
It's New York City, 1979. Gabriel Richmond (Timothy Hutton) is a talented architect with a seemingly rich life as he has a caring wife, loving daughter, and life-long friends. Yet, he spends most days in the movie theater, hiding out from work, escaping into a fictional world where he can more readily relate to the made-up characters. When fiction shines a mirror on his own life, an inspired Gabriel begins writing a play not-so-loosely based on his reality, examining all of the relationships that make his life what it is. At first a hobby, the play begins to consume Gabriel's own self-examination. Slowly he realizes the fragility of his relationships and overall decisions in life, but does not know what to do with this information other than write about it. Gabriel's work eventually gains momentum just as his real-life begins to fall apart. Equipped with a hand-held tape recorder and typewriter, he begins a journey to re-author his own life, looking back on the pieces of his fractured self. He begins to see that life is not always as controlled as a play or movie and sometimes the best thing an author can do is let the characters speak for themselves. Emblematic of the self-discovery that was hatching in New York City (and many other cities) at the end of the 1970s, this movie shines a light on not only Gabriel's life, but also the complex people that make it up. From his wife and daughter to his colleagues at work and life-long best friend - Gabriel tries to understand these complex people who collectively make up too much of his own self worth.—Multiple Avenue Releasing
