Film Review: 'Where Is Kyra' Finds Michelle Pfeiffer a Nice Starring Role

Few stars shine as bright as Michelle Pfeiffer. With performances like “The Fabulous Baker Boys” and even as recently as “mother!” and “The Wizard of Lies,” Pfeiffer commands the screen in a way few people do. Sundance Film Festival premiere “Where Is Kyra” presents Pfeiffer with her first starring headlining role since 2009. As a star vehicle and a warning of the fragile economic uncertainty of a majority of people, “Where Is Kyra” works well. However, the elements that work are muddled by on-the-nose misery porn filmmaking.

Kyra Johnson (Michelle Pfeiffer) spends her days looking for work and taking care of her ailing mother (Suzanne Shepherd). Money is tight and she’s still reeling from her divorce and job loss. Matters get worse when her mother finally dies. Left alone and without money, Kyra searches for a life raft. She finds this in the form of her mother’s pension checks. However, only Kyra’s mother is able to cash those checks. As Kyra falls for her sympathetic alcoholic neighbor, Doug (Kiefer Sutherland), she goes to desperate measures to keep her head above water.

It’s terrific to see Michelle Pfeiffer anchor a film again. Her talent hasn’t dulled since her heyday in the 80s and 90s. She plays against type with Kyra, but her trademark ferocity and commitment remains intact. She wonderfully conveys Kyra’s desperation without having to resort to easy histrionics. There’s a brokenness in her eyes that truly haunts. Early scenes with her mother show Kyra as a loving, yet exhausted daughter. However, as she begins to inhabit her mother’s persona, Pfeiffer tenses up. There’s a real high wire act to her scenes in disguise. Even under the layers of clothes and scarves, Pfeiffer communicates so much with her body language. It’s a strong acting showcase that begs casting directors to give her a career resurgence.

Her relationship with Kiefer Sutherland’s Doug appears much less textured. There’s something nice about seeing the reserved, depressed Kyra find a sliver of happiness with Doug. However, the rest of the relationship feels rather hollow. Much is made of how Doug has put his life back together and makes sacrifices for his relationship with Kyra. However, his plight never becomes as interesting as Kyra’s troubles. In many ways, it serves as a distraction that slows the movie down.

This reflects many of the problems with the film. Other than Pfeiffer’s performance, the film struggles to maintain a pulse. Director Andrew Dosunmu insists on wallowing in the film’s dour nature. The final act of the film finds suspense, which helps move it along. However, the rest of the film slogs along at a glacial pace. Cinematographer Bradford Young has shot some incredible films, such as “Arrival,” “Selma” and “A Most Violent Year.” This is not one of them. Some of the shots are well composed. However, the nearly pitch black lighting feels on the nose and visually uninteresting. Paired with the screeching score by Philip Miller and many scenes feel excruciating. Pfeiffer does enough storytelling with a simple look that the film doesn’t need to belabor every drama with a cacophony of sounds and dark, “gritty” shots.

Much of the movie revolves around how women of a certain age are forgotten by society. This point rings true as Kyra humiliates herself just to get part-time work. Moments like this are where the thesis of the film shines loud and clear. Michelle Pfeiffer deserves to have more starring projects that focus on the lives of women we don’t normally see represented. Yet, why does the film saddle this story with an unnecessary romance, poor lighting, and a bombastic score? The film should put its trust in their central star, Pfeiffer.

“Where is Kyra” opens today in New York and Los Angeles.

GRADE: (★★1/2)

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