“Everyone was really blown away,” Meyers-Shyer says of the performance. “I knew the first take would be in the film. She came out with guns blazing.”

Just as Goodrich is finding his place as father to both generations of his children, his gallery closes and his marriage ends. “When you think about the movie, there’s nothing like this guy,” Meyers-Shyer says. “I wanted the bigger theme of the movie to be that he has everything he really needs in his life. He just doesn’t know where to look.” As the film unfolds, Goodrich gradually enters a new season of his life, a season where it is finally possible to choose him. “That’s also really great about having an actor like Michael who the audience has a history with,” says Meyers-Shyer. “When you see him cry in the movie, it kills you because you’re used to seeing Michael Keaton always being super cool.”

Although Meyers-Shyer started writing the film in 2018, it took her almost six years to get it Goedrich made. She understands that this is the nature of the business these days, especially when none of her characters are an existing IP that wears costumes or flies. They shot Goedrich on location in Los Angeles in just 25 days. “One of the great things about independent filmmaking is that it’s so personal,” she says. “When you make studio films, sometimes they go through a lot of voices, channels and decisions, and they don’t often trust filmmakers like me who only have one film to their name. Sometimes yes, and that is very special. But one of the great things about making independent films is that this is really the film I wanted to make.”