Love gets juggled in Puccini for Beginners.

By Jerry Pappas

On the day I interviewed writer-director Maria Maggenti for her latest film, Puccini for Beginners, she was tooling around Silver Lake with her dogs in a beat-up jalopy she had recently bought off Craigslist. In a town where what you drive defines you as much as your job title, Maria doesn’t seem to subscribe to the stereotypical pomp and circumstance that permeates Hollywood. Instead, she couldn’t have been more unassuming as we discussed the upcoming release of her film, Puccini for Beginners.

The film, which was seven years in the making, is a smart, witty, romantic comedy, tart with zingers, that explores ‘70s feminism, ‘80s identity politics and current retro gender labeling. Maggenti tackles these issues effectively by not taking herself too seriously, and by making fun of her characters and how society views them. At its core, Puccini examines the “construction of gender,” namely what makes a man a man and a woman a woman. Typically, men fear committing to a woman in a relationship, says Maggenti, so she turned the tables by having her female lead, Allegra (Elizabeth Reaser), bounce between two lovers devoid of any true commitment. Additionally, Maggenti complicates matters for Allegra by having her face a tumultuous “what if?”: What if the two people she was dating happened to be ex-lovers?

Allegra’s love triangle with Philip (Justin Kirk) and Grace (Gretchen Mol) is rife with coincidence and small-world drama that unfolds with complete hilarity. Allegra two-times Philip and Grace with little concern for either’s sexual identity, happily sleeping with them both, but keeping her distance emotionally until she’s forced to face her demons. The fact that Allegra dates a man and a woman could make this film more about orientation, but that’s not the point here (although Allegra is a self-proclaimed lesbian). She is simply a human being in crisis who can’t commit to either lover, a situation which seemingly transcends the issue of orientation. By blurring these lines, Maggenti delivers a film with broad appeal. In fact, despite its gay themes, Puccini’s best test audience was in Salt Lake City. Without question, Puccini has something for everyone.

Puccini’s characters are based mostly on Maggenti’s lovers, ex-lovers, friends and past friends, but casting the part of Allegra was most challenging. According to Maggenti, “a woman who wants sexual pleasure and sexual freedom is still in a real bind in America.” If she’s an intellectual, and her sexuality is not centered in her chest, a woman is especially disadvantaged. Therefore, Maggenti’s challenge was to cast a woman who was smart and sexy and, at the same time, funny. Because Allegra was the subject and object of the action in Puccini, this placed her in the “traditional male role,” making casting the part all the more difficult. Allegra had to encompass brains and wit, not to mention be “fuckable,” which is a term of art used to describe female characters in Hollywood, for better or for worse. Fortunately, Maggenti found Elizabeth Reaser without a moment to spare, and cast her one week before shooting. Reaser adeptly personifies the crisis in us all with her vulnerability, neurosis, razor-sharp retorts and, yes, sex appeal.

I asked Maggenti if there were any similarities between her and Allegra. She pointed out that there are two kinds of people—those that feel with their hearts and those that feel with their heads. Allegra’s problem in Puccini is that she feels with her head rather than her heart, which is a self-protective mechanism that Maggenti admitted sharing at times. “Our greatest desire and fear is being seen,” says Maggenti, “and until you know who you are, it can be quite terrifying, which prevents many from entering into a committed relationship. If you don’t know who you are or you’re closed off from your feelings, it’s virtually impossible to have a partner; it’s a Catch-22. On the one hand, we want to be understood, but in order to do that, we have to expose who we really are which is daunting,” explains Maggenti. Through a myriad of comedic mishaps, Allegra learns to open her heart, and it’s this journey of self-discovery that resonates with audiences.

When asked if she had a favorite scene in the movie, Maggenti responded with some advice that a teacher once gave her. “People don’t remember whole movies. They remember scenes.” So, what were her favorite scenes? You’ll have to see Puccini for yourself to figure it out.

What’s next for this burgeoning talent? Maggenti hopes to do more directing. She’s passionate about it and would welcome the opportunity to direct full-time. She’s also a successful writer with the track record to prove it. Prior to writing Puccini, she wrote her break-out classic in 1995, The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love, followed by The Love Letter. Maggenti was also a staff writer on Without a Trace for several years. Would she return to television as a writer? “Only if it her were [my] own show,” she answers. She just might get her wish. Maggenti recently sold an episodic story idea to Showtime.

However, there is more to Maggenti than writing and directing Puccini. She’s a true artist’s artist, supporting others regardless of the medium. She selflessly hosted a party during this year’s holiday crunch for photographer friend David Newsom to help promote his work. And for the actors reading this, she plucked some of her cast for Puccini from the theater. Maggenti is an avid fan of theater, and feels that theater actors have greater skill sets for making independent films because of their ability to work quickly, accessing emotions and understanding text.

Maggenti is a giver who wants to see others be their best. Through Puccini, she encourages us to do that by inspiring us to be honest with ourselves so we can be honest with others. However, for those who still want to be in a committed relationship, and can’t—for whatever reason—Puccini for Beginners offers hope.