The Grand Illusion

Set in a painfully beige office against a constant cacophony of ringing phones, Jill Sprecher’s debut feature is about a group of temp workers whose bond is strained by capitalism’s daily grind when objects in the workplace start to go missing. The workers navigate the small indignities of “office culture,” which Sprecher’s script (cowritten by her sister Karen) skewers incisively.

While she tries to determine her career goals, Iris (Toni Collette) becomes a temporary worker for Global Credit. There, all the regular employees ignore her, so she becomes friendly with three other temps: socializing actress Paula (Lisa Kudrow), conceited Jane (Alanna Ubach) and rebellious Margaret (Parker Posey). Though Margaret pines for a permanent job with the company, a rash of office thefts makes people suspicious of her, and Iris wonders whether or not to stand behind her new friend.

Part of our Pocketful of Posey film series.

“A wicked, subversive comedy… This is a rare film about the way people actually live.” Roger Ebert

“In its quiet, unsensational way, this is one of the angriest and most politically charged movies I’ve seen in a while. For all its on-target humor, it seethes with moral fury at both the corporate beast and our acquiescence to its will… [It features] a truly surprising — and impressive — turn by Posey, who’s found exactly the right role to break the pert ingénue mold that was starting to harden around her.” Russell Smith, The Austin Chronicle