| Richard Brody
Staff writer  Jason Schwartzman in “Between the Temples” | Illustration by Raj Dhunna It says much about Jason Schwartzman’s artistic temperament (and about the state of Hollywood) that, outside of Wes Anderson–land, he’s done a lot of his most powerful work in independent films, such as his exquisitely bittersweet comedic performance in Nathan Silver’s new film “Between the Temples”—and in Alex Ross Perry’s 2017 drama “Golden Exits.” “Golden Exits” is a turbulent and acerbic melodrama set amid the artistic and professional bourgeoisie of Brooklyn. A group facing early middle age are desperate to maintain the vitality and the freedom of youth along with the security of family and the relish of midlife achievements. The movie is very much an ensemble piece, putting Schwartzman in the company of Emily Browning, Adam Horovitz (the ex-Beastie Boy), Chloë Sevigny, Lio Tipton, Mary-Louise Parker, and Lily Rabe—but his performance sets the movie’s tone. His character, Buddy, is the owner of a recording studio, and the arrival of a family friend, a young Australian archivist named Naomi (Browning), threatens his marriage. With its lacerating dialogue and its anxious, intimate situations involving family and friends, “Golden Exits” is something like an Ingmar Bergman film, but about present-day New York, with tensely restrained yet vulnerable and fervent performances to match. Schwartzman’s Buddy, as the near-artist in the crowd, is also the most original and flamboyant of its personalities, tossing out his caustic dialogue like emotional brushback pitches to keep the other characters unsteady and to conjure a closed-off world of reckless personal gamesmanship. The refined casualness of Schwartzman’s acting here feels almost as though it’s drawn straight from the city’s cafes and living rooms, as though it’s as much a work of life as of art. | 
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