Matthew Shear on Fantasy Life @filmlinc

Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago

Director Matthew Shear discusses Fantasy Life, the Closing Night selection of the 2026 New York Jewish Film Festival, with Aviva Weintraub, director of the New York Jewish Film Festival.

In this captivating comic drama of modern anxiety, first-time writer-director-actor Matthew Shear (who’s appeared in films by Noah Baumbach and Nathan Silver) weaves an unexpected tale of connection. Amanda Peet stars as Dianne, a wealthy but depressed middle-aged mom whose life intersects with newly laid-off paralegal Sam (Shear) when he’s hired—by his therapist—to babysit her three daughters while her husband (Alessandro Nivola) is away chasing his dreams to become a rock star. As Sam and Dianne find surprising intimacies by bonding over shared neuroses about lives they no longer feel they control, Fantasy Life reveals itself as a deeply honest character study, culminating in an emotional blowout family dinner. The brilliant cast also stars Judd Hirsch, Andrea Martin, Bob Balaban, Jessica Harper, and Zosia Mamet.

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