I Smile Back

Adam Salky
USA 2015

»Rarely has a performer striven so concertedly to shed any trace of his/her comedy roots as Sarah Silverman does over the course of 'I Smile Back'«

Variety 

 

Laney puts on a mask each day. A mask that smiles back at a world that has wounded her. On the surface, she is a suburban mother who has worked hard to create a perfect home – with a perfect husband, and two perfect kids. But beneath her façade, battling the ever-present pain of childhood wounds and adult disillusionment, she seeks escape by leading a secret life of drugs, alcohol, and infidelity. In an astonishing and brutally honest performance, Sarah Silverman plays Laney – as she spirals into the abyss of reckless abuse. A portrait of a woman who- unable to face her struggles - tries to kill pain with compulsive destructive behavior, and ultimately creates more pain in her vicious circle of self-hatred. With an unflinching eye, Salky deftly rips off her mask with profound empathy. And smiling into the mirror, her shattered soul smiles back to a world that can no longer save her.

Producer
Michael Harrop
Cinematographer
Eric Lin
Editor
Tamara Meem
Screenwriter
Paige Dylan, Amy Koppelman
Cast
Sarah Silverman, Josh Charles, Thomas Sadoski
Runtime/Version
82 min, OV
Salky Headshot

Adam Salky

A magnum cum laude graduate of Emory University, with an MFA from Columbia University where his shorts were awarded the James Bridges Award - the highest honor. His 2009 feature debut »Dare« was a Grand Jury Prize Nominee at Sundance, as was his 2nd feature - 2015's astounding portrait of struggle starring Sarah Silverman.