The Humbling

Like Michael Keaton in Birdman, Al Pacino gets his chance to show how life imitates art in The Humbling, a role in which his reputation and career trajectory add a subtle layer of self-reflexive depth and perspective.

This adaptation of a Philip Roth novel from director Barry Levinson (Rain Man) and screenwriter Buck Henry (The Graduate) takes a considerably more low-key and low-budget approach than Birdman, but it’s a worthwhile showcase for Pacino, whose thoughtful portrayal of a washed-up stage actor is both contemplative and darkly comical.

Pacino plays Simon, a veteran Shakespearean actor whose emotional breakdown during a performance on stage leads to a downward spiral and a stint in a psychiatric institution.

He returns to his suburban Connecticut estate to sort things out during online sessions with his therapist (Dylan Baker), and eventually finds companionship with Pegeen (Greta Gerwig), a lesbian who claims to have been clamoring for Simon since they first met when she was a young girl.

They are both lost souls uncertain of where the relationship will go once she moves in, as Simon longs to restart his career but becomes jealous when Pegeen becomes emotionally aloof, almost as if she enjoys playing with his insecurities.

Simon’s entire life is a performance, and he’s obsessed with the approval of those around him. He descends into gradual madness and becomes almost unable to distinguish fantasy from reality, which have always been intertwined to a certain extent for him anyway.

Pacino — a Shakespeare aficionado himself — tones down his usual scene-stealing and allows the audience to feel sympathy for a character who can be pompous and off-putting, not to mention flat-out insane. The strong supporting ensemble includes a rare appearance by Charles Grodin as his agent, along with Dan Hedaya and Dianne Wiest as Pegeen’s disapproving parents during a hilarious sequence in which an ailing Simon is under the influence of horse tranquilizers.

It’s a difficult novel to adapt from page to screen, and the screenplay has some pretentious touches and is overloaded with quirks. Still, while the result works better in spurts than as a whole, it’s a fascinating character study about a man whose life — both on and off stage — is a tragedy.

Rated R, 107 minutes.