Band Aid

This is a tale of the trials and tribulations haunting most marriages written by a creative actress who deserves to be followed.

Band Aid is a wildly inventive film that you should keep on your cinematic radar screen. Written, directed and starring Zoe Lister-Jones, it is both provocative and wonderfully sincere. This is a creative work of art.

Ms. Lister-Jones, who plays Anna, is in a troubled relationship with her husband Ben (Adam Pally). He is caught between jobs while she supports them as an Uber driver, and they argue over everything. Their constant bickering ranging from dishes left in the sink to choosing between having sex or ordering pizza is expanded beyond the crazed exchanges that you may have already seen in the previews.

After consulting with a therapist, they decide to use their shared love of music to express their anger and discontent. This leads them to forming a small rock group where they rediscover why they fell in love in the first place.

There are some wildly funny moments in this movie, as reflected by the enjoyable fact that the people around me in the theater were laughing throughout the film. Ms. Lister-Jones is an enormously talented actress as well as a musician, and you can only praise her for her talented work in putting this story together.

While the movie largely focuses on our married couple, there are a couple of supporting roles that deserve to be mentioned. To begin with, you will never forget the engaging performance of Fred Armisen who plays Dave, our couple’s neighbor. His skill as a drummer leads him to reluctantly join their small band, and there is a madcap sequence where Anna and Ben discover that Dave lives with two ex-strippers who he met at a sex addicts’ therapy session.

And for those of you who saw Larry David’s TV sitcom “Curb Your Enthusiasm”, you are likely to recall the profane performance by Susie Essman who played the wife of Mr. David’s manager. In Band Aid she has a small role as Ben’s mother, and she provides some sage advice on the different roles played by men and women in marriages that become challenging for nearly everyone. She remains a cinematic gift that keeps on giving.

Unfortunately, this extraordinarily fine independent film is closing after one week at the only theater showing it here in Indianapolis. Though most of you won’t be able to catch this little gem on the big screen, remember to hunt it down at home when you get a chance. It is one of those films that will make you smile as it warms your heart.

Every now and then small films with little promotion find a way to capture recognition on a national level. Last year it was Hunt for the Wilderpeople, and this year I hope it proves to be Band Aid.