★★★1/2

Megan Griffiths’ latest film is a delicately crafted exploration of two people at an emotional crossroads. In I’ll Show You Mine, former best-selling author Priya (Poorna Jagannathan) is looking forward to sitting down with her nephew, a former tabloid-featured celebrity model named Nic (Casey Thomas Brown), for a new book. Nic is settled into domesticity, married with two young children and now makes his life as a porn cartoonist.

For the duration of the film, Priya and Nic engage in a conversation, narratively set over a weekend at Priya’s home. With interstitial animation showing off Nic’s handiwork, the chapter-style format of the film takes a number of interesting diversions and revelations. There is also a bit of a power struggle and some gamesmanship on display as Priya quickly realizes Nic is not going to be an easy sit. He’s distracted, a little nervous, and guarded - though he trusts his aunt and claims to be familiar with her work.

Priya has built her career and fame presenting herself as an author with nothing to hide. However, Nic soon exposes some deficiencies in that persona and catches Priya off guard. As each circle one another and discuss deeply personal truths around upbringing, sexual histories, and unspoken moments never fully explored, they begin to see each other in a different light, digging into some places neither person expected to go at the start of the weekend,

Griffiths elicits captivating and masterful performances from Jagannathan and Brown, their comfort with each other engaging and inviting. This is also a film which easily could be replicated on stage, as the film is literally a two-person discussion from start to finish.

The two main issues which arise with I’ll Show You Mine come from an ending which accelerates into a sudden stop at forgiveness and understanding when a trust between the two may have been betrayed. Additionally, the film tilts, at least at first viewing, more to challenging Priya’s thoughts and sensibilities and less about Nic. While Nic certainly reveals a fair amount from his past, it is Priya who seems to have to take the largest journey in the film, which at times feels unfair to the story being told. Though a counterargument could be made that her presumptions brought to the table need the most undoing, the film seems to give Nic more of an out than Priya receives.

Still, this is a wonderfully performed, astute observation on trust and truth and understanding. Though the film may show some blemishes as a feature-length film, I’ll Show You Mine nonetheless reminds us that Griffiths is as gifted as they come as a character-driven storyteller.

I’ll Show You Mine was screened as part of the 48th Seattle International Film Festival.