A young autistic woman, Wendy (Dakota Fanning), is forced to take drastic steps to ensure that her Star Trek script is submitted to Paramount on time. On her journey from Oakland to Los Angeles she will encounter the unthinkable, and Please Stand By presents the world with an accurate look into the life of a neurodivergent individual.
I turned on Please Stand By at four o’clock in the morning, prepared to see a drama that had the potential to be hard hitting–but I got something far more intense than I could have ever expected. This was a terrible way to start my day, a terrible experience in a series of ways. This isn’t to say that Please Stand By is a poorly made film, because that isn’t the case–-but rather that having to stomach the intensity that is this film at such an early hour was gut wrenching. From nearly the opening moments, Fanning takes viewers on a journey through a lens with which many might be unfamiliar, but easily tugs at their heartstrings.
The emotional gravity of Please Stand By is heartbreaking; again and again Writer Michael Golamco and Director Ben Lewin double and triple down on the drama, making it more and more difficult not to cry. While Golamco and Lewin are the heads of Please Stand By, it’s Fanning’s performance that allows this film to flourish, that allows the drama to hit as hard as it does–and from her first moment on screen until the film’s conclusion, Fanning is brilliant, effectively captivating her audience throughout. Wendy isn’t the only character, however, as Scottie (Toni Collette) and Audrey (Alice Eve) play equally important roles in Please Stand By.
While Wendy is the most prominently featured character, it might be fair to argue that Collette’s Scottie is as important (if not more important). Scottie is a caretaker at the home in which Wendy lives, but she plays a more pivotal role than this–ultimately helping to bridge the gap between Wendy and her condition and the plethora of viewers that might struggle to understand what she experiences on a daily basis. Scottie helps viewers to understand Wendy’s struggles, but even more importantly, she allows viewers to see the full scope of the home in which she works. She’s effectively the go between, the character that helps to keep us grounded and present in the film. Please Stand By can be a challenging film to understand for someone on the outside looking in–and Scottie (and more importantly, Collette) works to keep us in the know.
The cinematography is nearly as important as the characters, as it effectively takes us on Wendy’s journey along with her. What it does at the start of the film is ground us, remind us, again and again, of what is taking place–and as Wendy journeys from her home into an undiscovered world, we are able to travel along with her as a result of what Director of Photography Geoffrey Simpson is able to accomplish.
Please Stand By is a film that, as a result of how it made me feel, was difficult to rate fairly. I grappled with the idea that it would receive something along the lines of a six and a half out of ten, but after speaking with some fellow cinephiles on Star Trek the Undiscovered Podcast I was able to better appreciate the nuances of what played out before me. This doesn’t change the fact that this is a shitty way to start the day, that this emotional, anxiety-ridden roller coaster will tear you apart piece by piece, or that you will, without the shadow of a doubt, be forced to hold back tears–but the conversation allowed me to look past how heartbreaking the film is in its entirety. With a beautiful performance by Fanning, and a brilliant journey on which we embark with her, Please Stand By is sure to tug at your heartstrings and entertain along the way.
P.S.: The adorable little dog Pete (Blaster) is what kept me from going off the deep end, what provided the majority of the levity present in the film–and including him in the film may just have been the best decision made by the team behind Please Stand By.
Directed by Ben Lewin.
Written by Michael Golamco.
Starring Dakota Fanning, Toni Collette, Alice Eve, Tony Revolori, Blaster, Michael Stahl-David, River Alexander, etc.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/10 = WORTH RENTING OR BUYING
