Margaret Sophie Stein – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

MOVIE OF THE WEEK June 7, 2024: LATE BLOOMERS

June 2, 2024July 9, 2024 Jennifer Merin Anna Greenfield, betsy bozdech, Cate Marquis, jennifer merin, Karen Gillan, Late Bloomers, leslie combemale, Lisa Steen, liz whittemore, loren king, Malgorzata Zajaczkowska, Margaret Sophie Stein, motw, Movie of the Week, nell minow, nikki fowler, Pam Grady, sandie angulo chen, sherin nicole, Vertical Entertainment

An unlikely friendship with a woman three times her age leads to personal growth for a struggling twentysomething in director Lisa Steen’s charming feature directorial debut, Late Bloomers. Starring Karen Gillan as floundering 28-year-old would-be musician Louise and Margaret Sophie Stein (aka Malgorzata Zajaczkowska in her native Poland) as Antonina, the testy Polish woman Louise unexpectedly finds herself spending time with and caring for, the film is a thoughtful take on what it really means to grow up.

Reviews

LATE BLOOMERS – Review by Jennifer Merin

May 30, 2024June 1, 2024 Jennifer Merin Anna Greenfield, Karen Gillan, Late Bloomers, Lisa Steen, Malgorzata Zajaczkowska, Margaret Sophie Stein, Vertical Entertainment

Late Bloomers is a soulful film that gives way to compassionate consideration of some heart heavy subjects like loneliness, abandonment, self esteem and the agonies of aging. The story has enough quirky embellishments to to be thoroughly engaging throughout. And the performances by Karen Gillan as Louise and Margaret Sophie Stein as Antonina are so utterly charming that you can’t help rooting for their endearingly troubled characters to find their way to joy.

Reviews

LATE BLOOMERS – Review by Cate Marquis

May 28, 2024August 23, 2024 Cate Marquis Anna Greenfield, Karen Gillan, Late Bloomers, Lisa Steen, Malgorzata Zajaczkowska, Margaret Sophie Stein, Vertical Entertainment

The indie film Late Bloomers is an odd couple dramedy starring Karen Gillan as a 28-year-old, Louise, who is stuck in a post-collegiate mode, denying her depression, and still not over being dumped by her long-term boyfriend a year ago, and Margaret Sophie Stein (aka Malgorzata Zajaczkowska in her native Poland) as Antonina, an angry, strong-willed older woman who speaks only Polish. The two women who form a wildly unlikely friendship after meeting in a hospital, Along with the insightful performances, Late Bloomers evolves to a surprisingly funny, charming dramedy that touches on issues of loneliness, aging, compassion and facing life and its changes.