5 TO 7

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“Progress is not linear.” That succinct observation sums up the quixotic fate of Anton Yelchin’s 24-year-old trust fund baby Brian Bloom in this wobbly romantic fantasy that marks television writer Victor Levin’s feature debut. The story leans more on the fantasy than on its romantic underpinnings. The result is a guilty pleasure that can take your breath away by surprise.

Brian savors life from his small Upper East Side Manhattan apartment where he pins his many rejection letters from publishers on the living room wall. An afternoon stroll facilitates a mutual cigarette-smoking confab with Arielle (Bérénice Marlohe of “Skyfall” fame), an improbably statuesque vision of feminine perfection. The would-be lovers converse easily outside the St. Regis Hotel where the 33-year-old Arielle lives with her French diplomat husband, Valery (Lambert Wilson), and their two children. Valery is firmly in his 50s. Arielle makes it clear to Brian that she is on the make for a French-styled affair that can only take place between the hours of 5 and 7pm.

Clearly in over his head, Brian nonetheless takes the irresistible bait set before him. Hot sex is on the menu after all, even if the audience doesn’t get to see any of it. There’s nothing like a romantic fantasy achieved to energize the life and mind of an aspiring writer, at least that’s the film’s brief thesis. Brian’s crash course in the oh-so French universe of approved-adultery takes a predictable route with the exception of a dinner invitation from Valery that includes Valery’s own petit ami Jane (Olivia Thirlby), and a well-heeled group of diners that includes chef Daniel Boulud, composer Alan Gilbert, and Civil Rights leader Julian Bond. You can practically send a postcard forecasting its climax while watching the movie.

For all of its artificial plotting and clichéd dialogue, “5 to 7” has its charms. Frank Langella and Glenn Close share scene-stealing duties as Brian’s filthy rich parents during lunch with Brian and Arielle in the cozy quarters of the Carlyle Hotel dining room. For the purpose of her character, Bérénice Marlohe is a ringer. I can’t imagine any audience member (male or female) being immune to her elegant beauty and sensual presence.

Who wouldn’t want to vicariously experience a steamy, if implausible, affair on Manhattan’s Upper East Side in spring? Sure it’s all fantasy, but it sure beats the heck out of “50 Shades of Gray.” Five to seven also happens to be an ideal two-hour period to escape from reality within the sacred walls of a nearby cinema. Get lost moi petit ami. 

Rated R. 95 mins.

QUADROPHENIA — THE CRITERION COLLECTION

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The coming-of-age film that launched “40,000 Mods” was based on the second rock opera from the Who, behind their hugely successful album and film "Tommy."

Its cool-sounding appellation is an abstraction of the terms "quadraphonic" and "schizophrenia" — in reference to the conflicting facets of its lead character, a young Mod named Jimmy Cooper (wonderfully played by Phil Daniels).

Quadraphonic was a big deal in the ‘70s when hi-fi stereo sound was doubled with the use of four speakers instead of just two.

Far out man.

Growing up in working class London, circa 1965, the nattily dressed Jimmy works in the mailroom of an advertising agency when he isn't making the Mod scene on his mirror-covered Lambretta motor scooter.

This is one clean machine.

Fueled by steady doses of speed, Jimmy romantically pursues Steph (Leslie Ash), a fickle Mod girl who attends the same parties he likes to go to where R&B music is widely appreciated. Kids need an excuse to dance. Jimmy's encounters with Kevin (Ray Winstone), his childhood-friend-turned-rocker-rival, unmask the hypocrisy in Jimmy's ineffective attempts at setting himself apart as an individual with a mind of his own. Jimmy wants to strike out with his own identity but doesn’t know how. Like most teenaged boys, he’s a ball of mixed frustration.  

Director/co-writer Franc Roddam shoots the film as an anthemic ode to youth that perfectly matches the similar intent of Pete Townsend’s songs. This is a movie that soars on the same energetic wings of Francois Truffaut’s rebellious alter ego in “the 400 Blows.” 

A weekend trip to foggy Brighton Beach with Jimmy’s Mod pals ends in ruin after a riotous public brawl with leather-jacketed Rockers. The wild event costs Jimmy an expensive court date alongside his Mod idol, Ace Face (played by Sting). Meeting your idols is rarely a good idea.

"Quadrophenia" is a glorious musically-embellished film of male teen angst that transcends its British locations and celebrated rock ‘n’ roll music with a custom-made sense of the confused romantic notions that young men the world over carry with them — frequently on their sleeves.

There are perfectly sublime moments of teenage victory, as when Jimmy makes love to Steph in an alleyway while police chase his friends and rivals, or when Jimmy tells his boss off before quitting his job.

Here an inspirational distinctly British coming of age movie about what it takes to break out of personal mental traps compounded by the social pitfalls that surround us all.

You can taste freedom in every second of “Quadrophenia.”

Its scale is downright operatic.    

Rated R. 120 mins.

AWAY WE GO

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Co-writer Dave Eggers's holier-than-thou, slacker road story of negative wish fulfillment proves toxic source material to director Sam Mendes ("Revolutionary Road").

Even Maya Rudolph's amiable performance as a pregnant domestic partner named Verona barely registers in a movie that comes off as an apogee of mumblecore influence.

Burt (John Krasinski) is an obnoxious man-boy with terrible parents who goes on a quest with Verona to find a suitable place to raise their family.

Visits to old friends in places like Arizona, Montreal, and Florida play out regrettably as each exponentially worse encounter reflects poorly on Burt's and Verona's judgment of character. With friends like these, Burt and Verona need no enemies. Reality is harsh.

The movie almost works as a cautionary tale about global overpopulation by imbecile parents, but even that would be a bridge too far for this pathetic navel rub that comes with the same sense of entitlement that it pretends to skewer.

"Away We Go" could win a prize for worst poster of the decade.

Yay!

Rated R. 97 mins.