Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- None
- melancholic
- witty
- intimate
- adult date night
- indie film night
What critics said
Critics found Laura Linney and the principal performances compelling, but judged the melancholy romantic premise uneven and insufficiently developed.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Louise is drawn to Scott because his appearance evokes her deceased high school boyfriend, making desire inseparable from remembrance.
Louise, a divorced woman in her thirties, begins an uninhibited affair with the much younger graduate-school applicant Scott.
Louise works in admissions at Columbia University's School of Fine Arts while Scott seeks entry through his application and interview.
The story repeatedly asks whether Scott is an independent person or merely a new vessel for Louise's lost love.
Films like P.S., and why
Birth
shared themes of grief, romantic projection, and an uncanny younger embodiment of a lost love within an unsettling drama
The Good Girl
shared adult romantic drama, emotional ambiguity, and psychologically complicated attraction
Notes on a Scandal
shared older woman younger man romance, sexual frankness, and melancholy character study
Roger Dodger
shared witty but bruised independent drama about emotionally arrested adults and difficult relationships
Movie Details
- Director
- Dylan Kidd
- Release Date
- 2004-10-15
- Runtime
- 97 min
- Rating
- 5.6 / 10 (81)
Cast
- Laura Linney
- Gabriel Byrne
- Lois Smith
- Paul Rudd
- Topher Grace
- Jennifer Carta
- Becki Newton
- Chris Meyer
- Marcia Gay Harden
- Stacy Lynn Spierer
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is P.S. about?
- A successful Columbia admissions officer risks emotional disarray when a young painter who resembles her dead first love reignites desire, grief, and old rivalries.
- What is P.S. like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of P.S. as measured, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as layered.
- Is P.S. violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in P.S..
- What did critics think of P.S.?
- Critics found Laura Linney and the principal performances compelling, but judged the melancholy romantic premise uneven and insufficiently developed.
- Which films are like P.S.?
- Films with a similar feel include Birth, The Good Girl, Notes on a Scandal, and Roger Dodger.
- How long is P.S.?
- P.S. runs 97 minutes.
- Where can I watch P.S.?
- In United States, P.S. streams on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads.
