The life of Kyra, an unemployed woman, who lives in, Brooklyn, New York, with her ailing mother, as they live depending on her mother's little income, has been changed upon her mother's death, as she struggles against finding a job to support herself of life expenses, and incidents come to worst, when she falls in love.
Although it's opening act suggests Michelle Pfeiffer going mumble-core, Where is Kyra? is actually a far more substantial work than initially suggested - even if it's debatable whether or not it would be as impactful with another actress in the lead.
Where Is Kyra? is an unorthodox comeback vehicle for Pfeiffer-the film is truly a total bummer, the rare example of cinema that is both beautifully made and 100 percent joyless. But it remains noteworthy, and maybe even important...
The script, by Darci Picoult, does little to illuminate thoughts, plans, and lives; the banal dialogue is delivered at a slow and pause-riddled pace, as if to infuse it with meaning and emotion that it doesn't contain.
Watching Michelle Pfeiffer's enactment of this woman as a hyperaware and yet disempowered character urges me to more carefully observe this world of so many virtually invisible and needy individuals.
Isn't so much about Kyra's fling with criminal behavior as it is about a world in which a decent person can fall from safety to destitution in just a few weeks' time.
"Where is Kyra?" is a small story - there's much about its main character that we'll never know - and a terribly sad one. But it's a remarkable showcase for Pfeiffer, who'll break your heart in every scene.
