Spinster

Directed by Andrea Dorfman

Canada, 2019 (fiction, 87 minutes, colour, English)

Image: © andreadorfman.com

Film Description:
"After her partner breaks up with her on her 39th birthday, Gaby tackles her fears of loneliness as well as preconceptions of what it means for a woman to be single."
-- Woods Entertainment (source)

Film Credits (partial):
Written by:	Jennifer Deyell
Produced by:	Jay Dahl, Bill Niven, Marc Tetreault, William Woods, Luke Black
Principal Cast:	Chelsea Peretti, Susan Kent, Nadia Tonen, Kate Lynch, David Rossetti, Bill Carr, Jonathan Watton, Taylor Olson, Kirsten Olivia Taylor, Josh MacDonald, Marcus Simmonds, Amy Groening, Kevin Kincaid, Fabien Melanson, Eugene Sampang, Matthew Nette, Trina Corkum, Scott Bailey, Rachel Lloyd, Koumbie, Michael Cross, Oliver Boyle, Charlie Boyle, Frietzen Kenter
Cinematography:	Stéphanie Anne Weber Biron
Film Editing:	Simone Smith
Music:	Daniel Ledwell
Production Company:	Woods Entertainment

(sources)

Quotes by the Director

"The film's writer, Jennifer Deyell, and I wanted to turn the romantic comedy on its ear and make it less about chasing someone else and more about falling in love with yourself. The concept that women can't be happy and alone at any age, but specifically in their 30s and 40s, is simply untrue. There's beauty, and a lot of comedy, in forging your own path and I hope that the film [Spinster] resonates with anyone in a similar situation."
-- Andrea Dorfman (source)

"[For Spinster] we lifted from experiences I went through in my 30s, and experiences people Jennifer [Deyell] and I knew went through, who were specifically single. The questions that we got asked and the discomfort that we were put through, all in the interest of this ideal that frankly isn't even for everybody, whether you want it or not."
-- Andrea Dorfman (source)

Quotes about Spinster

"[In Spinster] the lighting is atrocious, the framing is erratic and Ms. Peretti's comedy, which is generally about demolishing the banalities that constitute most human interaction, may well have the audience saying, 'Well, of course Gaby's alone. She's intolerable.' Which would actually be fine, if she weren't so eager to find someone to tolerate her. It turns out to be a risky gambit by director [Andrea] Dorfman, but what's happening, one comes to realize (perhaps slowly), is that the film is reflecting the personality of its subject. And as matters improve after Gaby's matchmaking horrors, internet-dating disasters, calamitous one-night stands and utter despair (embroidered with jokes), the movie's look adjusts accordingly."
-- John Anderson (source)

"[In Spinster] writer Jennifer Deyell has fun with the tropes of the [rom-com] genre, scripting one scene composed entirely of Gaby's responses to first dates. Sample famous last words: 'I guess I never really listened to Rush.' Through the course of four seasons and one day—the film spans the protagonist's 40th year—we get humour, wistfulness and a degree of personal growth, all presented far more organically than most rom-coms even try to manage. Even nicer, its set firmly in [Andrea] Dorfman's hometown of Halifax."
-- Chris Knight (source)

"Spinster is disarming in the way it consistently put its protagonist first, particularly in the context of a genre that often struggles to reconcile old-school romanticism with populist female empowerment."
-- Guy Lodge (source)

"I enjoy women in power so I wanted to be directed by Andrea [Dorfman]. When I got the offer, I watched her films and thought they looked beautiful. She has a specific vibe and style and she made me fall in love with Nova Scotia."
-- Chelsea Peretti (source)

Bibliography for Spinster

Articles from Newspapers, Magazines, or News Websites

Anderson, John. "'Spinster' review: A misanthrope makes nice; Comedian Chelsea Peretti stars as an acerbic single woman who despairs of finding a loving partner." Review of Spinster. Wall Street Journal, August 6, 2020.
Cooke, Stephen. "Dorfman's Spinster is anti-rom-com." Interview with Andrea Dorfman. Halifax Chronicle-Herald, August 8, 2020.
Felperin, Leslie. "'Spinster': Film review." Review of Spinster. Hollywood Reporter, August 5, 2020.
Gee, Dana. "Spinster looks fo change story For women; Film a funny look at one woman's navigation through archaic social pressures to marry, have kids." Interview with Andrea Dorfman, Chelsea Peretti. The Province (Vancouver), December 8, 2019.
Halifax Chronicle-Herald. "Dorfman's Spinster debuts on iTunes, VOD on Aug. 7: Film marks lead debut of former Brooklyn Nine-Nine star Peretti." Halifax Chronicle-Herald, July 22, 2020.
Hertz, Barry. "Chelsea Peretti makes the Halifax-shot Spinster worth sticking with, for 87 minutes." Review of Spinster. Globe and Mail, August 8, 2020.
Knight, Chris. "Alone again ... naturally; A look at single life pushes all the right buttons." Review of Spinster. Calgary Herald, August 7, 2020.
Lodge, Guy. "'Spinster' review: Chelsea Peretti celebrates the single life in likably low-key romcom." Review of Spinster. Variety, August 6, 2020.

Web Sites about Spinster

"IMDb: Spinster." Internet Movie Database, Inc. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8452136/reference.
"Spinster." Woods Entertainment. https://www.woodsentertainment.com/spinster. [official site]