Personal Velocity follows a conceptual, narrative style quite popular these days: that of the triptych. A lot of good, recent movies, including Amores Perros, Magnolia and 21 Grams inhabit a collage of characters and the interrelatedness of these characters gradually unfolds as the movie progresses. Personal Velocity tells the story of three women, all on the verge of making a big decision in their lives. Decisions which are directly linked to the men in their lives. All three women have to decide where they stand in their relationships and how to pursue their lives.

Delia (Kyra Sedgwick) is a woman who grew up in an atmosphere of domestic violence, causing her to lead a promiscuous life as a teenager. Now she is married, has two kids, and her husband beats her and locks her up in the cabin when she does something that doesn’t please him. She decides to leave with her two children and start a new life. Greta (Parker Posey) is a successful book editor who has difficulty staying loyal to her husband, even though her marriage is good. And Paula (Fairuza Balk) has narrowly escaped from being hit by a car and just found out she is pregnant. In a burst of naivety she flees with her car and picks up a young hitchhiking boy.

These three storylines don’t seem to have that much in common as suggested (or intended). Director and writer Rebecca Miller, who based her film on her novel of the same name, tends to encourage the viewer to find out the interrelatedness between these stories. Naturally, there are some similarities between these three women, but their connection isn’t a very solid one. The three stories tend to stand up on their own and the only concrete, tangible element that connects them is Paula’s traffic incident which the other two women hear about on the radio.

Now, there is nothing wrong with telling three separate stories. Miller, however, anxiously tries to squeeze three emotional stories into a nearly 90-minute film. This unintentionally gives Personal Velocity an all-devouring pace. The three actresses playing these three women all perform with complete credibility and solidity. Miller makes use of interesting cinematographic techniques, including the use of stills and flashbacks, but simultaneously tries to bring in as much information (relevant or not) about the women’s pasts she can possibly think of. If she had just given herself and the story some more time and space to unravel, Personal Velocity would have been a little bit easier to bear. It is not a bad film though. The individual stories all provide interesting insights into these women’s lives but the movie as a whole sort of negates the power of these stories. Personal Velocity painstakingly tries to find an artistically and narratively interesting shape but unfortunately fails on this level. However, despite this I would definitely recommend seeing Personal Velocity, mainly because of the indiviual stories.

Directed by: Rebecca Miller
Starring: Kyra Sedgwick, Parker Posey and Fairuza Balk
Official Website

‘Personal Velocity: Three Portraits’ runs 86 minutes, is already showing in the US and UK and opens April 9 in the Netherlands.
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