Greetings again from the darkness. If such a thing existed in Hollywood, I wouldn't be surprised if Woody Allen brought a Trademark Infringement suit against writer/director Josh Radnor. There is even a clear reference to Mr. Allen, who must be one of Radnor's idols. Of course, similar ideas and approaches happen frequently in movies, so really what we have is a snapshot in time of what it's like to be a young (late 20's to early 30's) New Yorker trying to figure out life.

Radnor is one of the stars of "How I Met Your Mother" and this is his filmmaking debut. He does show some promise despite some weakness in the script and too dang many close-ups - talking heads, as I call them. His goal was to take an intimate look at relationships and the road to maturity, which is often filled with potholes. This seems especially true for those artistic types who are convinced New York is the only land of opportunity in existence.

There are 4 stories going on: Sam (Josh Radnor) is a struggling writer who meets Mississippi (Kate Mara),a cabaret singer/waitress; Mary Catherine (Zoe Kazan) and Charlie (Pablo Schreiber) have their relationship tested by a proposed move to L.A.; Annie (Malin Akerman) suffers from a self-image problem and faces off against a true romantic in Sam #2 (Tony Hale); and an on-going interwoven story line involves Sam's character making an asinine decision when a young boy gets separated from his family on the subway.

The best of the stories is Annie's. Suffering from an auto-immune disease which leaves her hairless, she has a real self-image problem in thinking that she is not worthy of love. On the ironic other hand, she is put off by the advances of nice guy Sam #2 because he isn't the physical specimen she had dreamed of. Akerman and Hale make these characters believable and we actually pull for them to figure it out.

Kazan's Mary Catherine just had me hoping Charlie would slap her and take off to LA on his own. Kazan (granddaughter of the great director Elia Kazan) actually does a nice job capturing the suffering that so many females put themselves through. Kate Mara's Mississippi is the perky on the outside, defensive on the inside type who should probably never get mixed up with the self-centered mess that is Sam (Radnor). Still, Mara's talent is on full display (she first leaped off the screen in Brokeback Mountain as Heath Ledger's 19 yr old daughter).

One thing the script reminds us is that this generation still believes the world revolves around their every decision. They have been a bit slow on the uptake here, but it makes for easy pickings in script writing. There are some terrific individual scenes, but some of the larger plot lines are not treated fairly or completely. Maybe Radnor tackled a bit too much for his first outing. Still, a decent effort and I look forward to more from him.

Sam Wexler (Josh Radnor) is a story writer living in NYC. One day on the subway, he finds little Rasheen who lost his foster mom. He's not eager to go back and Sam is in a rush to a job interview. Then he takes him to his friend Annie (Malin Akerman)'s party. Annie is suffering from alopecia and hounded by an annoying co-worker Sam #2 (Tony Hale). Her sometimes mantra is "Thank You! More Please." Friend Mary Catherine (Zoe Kazan) is also at the party whose boyfriend Charlie (Pablo Schreiber) wants to move to L.A. for a job opportunity but she doesn't. Sam #1 is infatuated with waitress Mississippi (Kate Mara).

I want to like this more. The characters are indie-quirky and likable enough. However, a couple of little things keep bothering me about this movie. First the truly minor thing is that the kid should be cuter. Don't get me wrong. The kid is cute but he really should be cuter. Second, I kept thinking that this is kidnapping. The movie would work fine if he just kept the kid overnight. The longer he stayed, the more unreal the movie became. It got to be so ridiculous that the other characters are annoyed at him. Finally, the characters need more connections. They don't work together and they aren't roommates. The stories just feel a little bit separated. It would be better for them to be connected and therefore have more easy meetings together. Overall, there are some funny moments and some nice indie moments. I'm just bothered by the unintentional kidnapping.

Captures a generational moment -- young people on the cusp of truly growing up, tiring of their reflexive cynicism, each in their own ways struggling to connect and define what it means to love and be loved.

I was going to say that this film was "Garden State" for a new generation, but it seems that many others have made the same comparison and now I would be just joining the crowd. But it is true. The indie music, the general feel, it calls to mind "Garden State". This film did not touch me as much, though I am undecided whether this was due to the film or my age.

I loved the Woody Allen reference, but what lost e a bit was the whole New York versus Los Angeles discussion. The thought that New York is "home" but Los Angeles is a wasteland just was over my head. I live in Wisconsin, so the closest I get to either of these cities is Chicago. Is New York all that different from LA? Obviously, in some ways, yes. But to really experience difference, get out of the urban setting, folks.

The breakout actor for me here was Kate Mara (Mississippi). Now, I know she has been around a while and done many big things. But I never took notice of her before (sorry, Kate). This film may call attention to her in ways that past work did not. Or maybe I am just crazy and everyone but me already recognized her greatness.

Josh Radnor (Sam Wexler) is a great actor, writer and director. The analogy of the short stories versus the novel was superb. And, ironically, while the film could be said to be "novel-length", it was really more like three short stories. So, did Josh move past Sam's shortcoming? That, and the Charlie and Mary Catherine story just seemed added in -- they were not as tightly connected.

But the film's greatest strength comes from its loose endings. I rarely discuss a film's end, but to praise this film I have to call it to people's attention. The premise of the film (as stated from the back of the DVD case) is that Sam's fear of commitment will be tested and Annie's streak of bad boyfriends will be faced. Yet, we are left with questions: do Sam and Mississippi get back together and stay that way? Does Annie end up with Sam 2 or does she bounce back to her old ways? We do not know, and the film never suggests definitively that we will.