It's always a pleasure when a respected actor takes a break from the higher-profile gigs they can likely get otherwise in order to work on something smaller and more independent. Such is the case, for Edie Falco in I'll Be Right There, a small and well-realized family drama led by the "Sopranos" and "Nurse Jackie" star. Falco is Wanda, a family matriarch who can take care of everything for everyone, sometimes because they need her to and sometimes because it's just how she's wired, her identity largely defined by whose needs (other than her own) she can anticipate.
Orbiting Wanda is an endearing cast of characters who all feel as lived in and well developed as her, including her two grown children, Mark (Charlie Tahan) and Sarah (Kayli Carter); her aging mother, Grace (Jeannie Berlin); her boyfriend, Marshall (Michael Rapaport) and her girlfriend, Sophie (Sepideh Moafi); her ex-husband (and Mark and Sarah's father), Henry (Bradley Whitford); and eventually Albert (Michael Beach), an old high school classmate she unexpectedly reconnects with. All of this gives plenty for the uber-capable Wanda to keep track of, from Sarah's impending new baby and all the nerves and uncertainty that comes with it to Mark's re-entry into daily life after getting sober (and getting dumped by his therapist).
Wanda works as a bookkeeper, but most of her time is spent bouncing from here to there between her various obligations, real or imagined, to her family and friends. She tries to be a supportive girlfriend to Marshall, who's despondent over a wrist injury keeping him from playing basketball, but instead she's spending time with Sophie, enjoying the sex but feeling put off by her resistance to introducing Wanda to her friends. Henry stops by from time to time with his two young children from his second marriage, and when he drops a bombshell on Wanda about being unable to finance Sarah's wedding, we're not surprised at all when Wanda agrees to tell their daughter for him rather than setting a clear and healthy boundary insisting he does it himself.
Because this is Wanda in a nutshell: completely devoid of boundaries and completely defined but how she is of service to others. We all know that person (or worse, we may be that person), and Falco's frank and familiar portrayal make Wanda all the more instantly relatable. Written by Jim Beggarly, I'll Be Right There is rife with sharp wit and well-defined characters, each with distinct voices that nevertheless relate effortlessly to each other. We believe these people are family, that they have long and established histories with each other. Brendan Walsh, whose credits include directing several episodes of "Nurse Jackie," also gets credit for creating a level of comfort among his cast and for his audience; with so many moving pieces, it would be easy for any one of these relationships to lose steam, but they never do.
At a certain point in I'll Be Right There, you'd be forgiven if, like me, you sort of let go of watching the film for the plot (which is perfectly enjoyable, don't get me wrong) and instead get lost in Falco's performance. She is a welcome addition to any production, but here in particular she seems to be so entirely in her element, so completely aware of who Wanda is, what drives her and distracts her, that we completely trust Falco to take us on this journey with her. And it's a well-founded faith, as Wanda's growth over the course of the film is not earth-shattering but is significant.
As all of the various storylines Wanda is juggling start to reach their inevitable conclusions (and begin criss-crossing each other much to Wanda's dismay), Walsh manages Beggarly's many narrative threads well, creating a sense of urgency with a baby on the way and more, as well as infusing it all with a bit of fun, the stakes never really that much higher than the every day troubles of an over-taxed, hyper-diligent pack mother intent on keeping her cubs, literal or otherwise, safe and sound. It's a treat of a movie, something original and well delivered, a welcome reminder of the gems that exist in the independent film space if only we're willing to look for them.
I'll Be Right There is now streaming on digital.
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