Directed by: H.P. Mendoza
Written by: Jesse Orenshein
Telling a story about grief through comedy isn’t easy. You don’t want to come across as flippant, but you want to provide enough levity to make an incredibly difficult emotion more palatable. Fortunately, The Secret Art of Human Flight succeeds in this.
In this film, Ben Grady (Grant Rosenmeyer) is struggling to cope with his wife Sarah’s (Reina Hardesty) unexpected death and subsequent criminal investigation. In his grief, he turns to a strange self-help book from the dark web, written by an unusual man named Mealworm (Paul Raci) that will supposedly teach him to fly.
This movie is so well-written; it does a wonderful job of showing both the grief of losing a loved one as well as the grief of watching a loved one suffer loss and not knowing how to help. Despite the heavy subject matter, the dialogue is so funny, and several moments made me laugh out loud.
The strong script is carried by an equally strong cast. Rosenmeyer is excellent in the lead role. He has excellent comedic timing and delivery, but he still tugs at your heartstrings, especially in a completely dialogue-less scene toward the end of the film. Raci as Mealworm, is fantastic as well, maintaining an air of mystery and making you wonder if he’s just a hokey grifter or if there’s more to him.
The standout, however, is Lucy DeVito as Ben’s sister Gloria, who balances genuine concern and frustration so well. There’s a bit after a dinner scene early in the film where she has a small breakdown, and it’s so subtle but so heart-wrenching that it made me choke up. As a big sister myself, I found her role extra impactful.
My gripes with this film are mostly technical. The editing is creative, but the camera work in some places feels messy, the lighting is drab, and the audio sounds tinny in some parts. I don’t think it’s due to budgetary constraints or a lack of skill, so it all might have been an artistic decision, but it personally doesn’t work for me.
Despite this, The Secret Art of Human Flight is an equally beautiful and heartbreaking movie that I would absolutely recommend.
You can catch this movie in select theaters starting July 3rd.
Have you seen The Secret Art of Human Flight? What did you think?
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FLIXCHATTER FILM BLOG 
A great review. I haven’t heard about this movie before, but your review compels me to see it. I’ve always been drawn towards movies about grief. I often find such movies to be therapeutic in allowing me to cope with my own feelings of losing beloved family members. For instance, the story of “The Secret Art of Human Flight” reminds me of the film “All of Us Strangers”. Andrew Haigh’s drama told the story of a lonely queer man grieving the loss of his parents that died in an accident. I absolutely loved that movie, which was one of my favorite films of 2023. So, I will definitely keep “The Secret Art of Human Flight” on my watchlists of films to see this year. Thanks for the recommendation.
Here’s why I loved “All of Us Strangers”:
I haven’t seen this one, Hassan, this is Laura’s review. Not sure how similar it is to All of Us Strangers, which I agree is an outstanding film. It was one of my favorites of the year in 2023 and should’ve garnered more awards, esp for Andrew Scott.
P.S. Sorry to hear about your cousin, that’s lovely that you honored him by highlighting his profound influence on you in your review.
Thanks for the feedback Ruth. “All of Us Strangers” was also one of my favorite movies of 2023. Such a powerful film. I was so upset by the fact that it didn’t get a single Oscar nomination. I believe it was one of the worst snubs in Academy Award history.
I appreciate your concerns. My cousin is thankfully doing well and is living here in Toronto with his boyfriend.