The truth is that I would watch Nicola Rose's Goodbye, Petrushka again solely for the genuine, winning performance by relative newcomer Lizzie Kehoe as the film's leading character, Claire. When we meet her, Claire is a New York college student who is doing what she wants but not necessarily where she wants or needs to be doing it. An unexpected encounter with Thibaut (Thomas Vieljeux), a French ice skater on his way down the chain, leads to some twists and turns and encouragement by her BFF Julia (Casey Landman) to start over in Paris. 

So, she does. 

Goodbye, Petrushka is part rom-com, part coming-of-age story. It's all immensely better because of Nicola Rosa's heartfelt storytelling and the ability of her ensemble cast of mostly newcomers to bring it all to life. Kehoe is front-and-center as Claire, the kind of girl you likely met while in college and the kind of girl with whom you instantly crushed. When she unleashes her plan to move to France, work as an au pair, rediscover Thibaut, and bring to life her planned puppet creation masterpiece, you can't help but believe in it all and want the best for Claire. 

Of course, things don't go quite as planned. 

This Indie Rights release is available via most streaming platforms. It's the kind of indie project that you start watching while doing the laundry on a Saturday night only to set aside the laundry and give the film all your attention. A good amount of that is because of the charismatic, empathetic performance from Kehoe. Otherwise only seen in two podcast series, Kehoe's work here draws you in in all the best ways. As her BFF, Casey Landman adds a nice spark of energy any time she's on the screen and is tremendously fun to watch. Vieljeux is also tremendously good as Thibaut while Bartek Szymanski matches Claire's heartnotes quite nicely as Rafal. 

Original music by Jeff Baxter is effective throughout Goodbye, Petrushka and lensing by Omar Torres captures a nice tapestry of heart and humor.  This isn't the kind of tour-de-force that's going to blow you away. It's simply effective storytelling brought to life nicely by a talented ensemble and an up-and-coming cinematic voice in Nicola Rose. With her next film Magnetosphere already on the horizon, Nicola Rose is for sure one to watch. For now, you should watch Goodbye, Petrushka. 

Written by Richard Propes
The Independent Critic