Slice-of-life films come in all shapes and sizes. Sometimes they take place in small-town America and other times they take place in a big city like New York City. That’s the case with The latest film from writer/ director Simon Hacker. It stars Michael Zegen famous for his role in the Prime Video series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. This is his big leading role in a film and he’s fantastic.

Andy Singer (Michael Zegen) is a struggling real estate agent in New York City. While he’s working he finds out that his daughter Anna (Kasey Bella Suarez) who he hadn’t seen in four months has shown up at his doorstep. On top of that, his landlord is trying to evict him because he owes a lot of back rent. In a desperate move, he does something he shouldn’t do to try and improve his situation.

Hacker creates the vibes of After Hours with this, his third film. There are a lot of characters in this story. Because of all the moving around and wheeling and dealing, Zegen’s character has to deal with a lot of people. He has to deal with cutthroat real estate agents, appliance thieves, and his daughter’s mother (Isabel Arraiza) who is threatening to move to Orlando, Florida. All of this is part of why what he’s doing is so very important to him. His struggles are so real we all can relate to them.

Zegen is fantastic in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. He showed what he’s capable of as an actor. He’s great opposite Rachel Brosnahan, but here he shows a lot of range and character as a leading actor in this movie. I like what he was doing as part of a big ensemble in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, but what he’s doing here is special. He shows his acting chops tremendously.  I can see him getting more roles in bigger and bigger films after this.

Kasey Bella Suarez is a young actress I wasn’t familiar with before seeing her in this movie. She’s been in films with Adam Sandler, You Are So No Invited To My Bamizfah, and Your Monster, opposite Melissa Barrera, but she shines alongside Zegen in Notice to Quit. When child actors are given roles like this they really surprise audiences. That’s why I strongly believe there needs to be an under-eighteen Academy Award acting category. There are so many terrific performances like this one every year.

I’ve had my share of financial issues in the past few years. I’ve had many instances where I couldn’t pay my rent or electricity. I had to get assistance from the local town government where I live here, ironically enough, in Central Florida. Very near Orlando. I could relate to this aspect of the story quite a bit. Hacker captured this man’s struggles perfectly.  Throw in the part about hustling to make ends meet and it sums up my life completely.  It was uncanny how much this story reminded me of my own life. Except for the child part, but that was the sweet aspect of the film.

Notice to Quit is a slice-of-life story that is quite relatable to many viewers who will watch this movie. Including me. There are plenty of struggling separated fathers out there who will be able to use this story as motivation to try and make things better between their exes and the children they may or may not have with said exes. The grind to find a good paying job and pay your bills is real for many men. That’s why this story hit me so hard. I felt like I’ve been in a constant struggle for a while now. Similar to the Zegen character. Zegen showed me a lot with his performance in this film. Hacker also showed me he is a writer/director to watch for in the future. This was a breakout film for both of these men.

4 stars

Dan Skip Allen