Carrie Pilby

Carrie Pilby is a brilliant but socially awkward 19-year-old who has spent years charting life by her own exacting standards. She’s leapt ahead of her peers academically yet navigating friendships, romance, and the messy rules of adult life feels like an experiment gone awry. After finishing a major project that let her skip conventional schooling, Carrie is pulled into the city’s dating scene when a well meaning therapist suggests she practice social contact as a test. What follows is a string of misfires and small triumphs as she encounters a colorful array of characters who challenge every assumption she carries about people, love, and freedom. Her exchanges with Tara, a friend, add warmth to proof that growing up is messy.

Directed by Susan Johnson, the film adapts Caren Lissner's novel with Kara Holden co writing; it's a sharp little coming of age tale set against a modern New York City backdrop.

Critically, the movie landed as a small but readable comedy drama that mines ideas about intellect versus social empathy. It leans into dry wit, awkward encounters, and Carrie’s stubborn integrity as she tests her own limits on happiness and belonging.