If I had known this thing was so close to dropping on MAX, i wouldn’t have renewed it. I will say, that with almost 100 titles so far this year, this is currently at the top of my list. I am probably the only person who can say that, since I think everyone is likely to have seen something at one of the festivals by now. But for me, I thought this quirky A24 comedy hit the mark, a rare feat for what has been a fairly mediocre year thus far. The audio description is produced by Deluxe, with primary narration by Jedidiah Barton.

Problemista is the writer/directorial debut of Julio Torres, who also stars as a Central American immigrant who really wants to work for Hasbro. His VISA is near expiration, and he needs a sponsor. despite a series of silly jobs, he ends up sort of working for Tilda swinton’s incredibly eccentric character, who is reminiscent of what Meryl Streep pulled off in The Devil Wears Prada.

His boss is blunt, occasionally mean and scathing, and selfish. She does not seem like the kind of person who would sponsor a VISA, however, she’s also in this odd relationship with an artist (RZA) who ends up freezing himself, and then the film becomes about trying to put on an art show for these paintings of his. It seems to be constantly unpredictable, and exactly the kind of thing that A24 loves to pick up. I got Dream Scenario vibes, but it’s so hard to not think of The Devil Wears Prada.

Tilda Swinton also gives what is my favorite performance of the year, thus far, as she’s brilliant in this icy comedic role. As a super-Karen, entitled to everything, she provides so much contrast to Julio, who is often a much quieter character. You can tell that Julio doesn’t have quite the on camera experience as his co-stars, but I didn’t mind it. It just made him feel more human, and inflated the personality of Swinton.

This is a bold, daring, fresh dark comedy about taking the long way to get to the American Dream. Since this occasionally takes advantage of an almost Eternal Sunshine approach to this story, the audio description is much appreciated, and the entire team at Deluxe once again deserves a round of applause. It’s not a terribly difficult film to describe, but it has just enough to it that you’ll appreciate the attention to detail.

Again, I might be the outlier here, but I’ve seen many of this years big titles so far, and Problemista is the one that is sitting on top. I’m not sure if I’m more excited at the possibility of seeing Julio Torres again as an actor or director, but as a writer, I can’t wait to see what he comes up with next.

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Final Grade: A