Paul is agonising over his interpretation of 'Uncle Vanya' and, paralysed by anxiety, stumbles upon a solution via a New Yorker article about a high-tech company promising to alleviate suffering by extracting souls. He enlists their services—only to discover that his soul is the shape and size of a chickpea.
Acting
Giamatti playing himself having an existential crisis
Production
Soviet-style soul extraction facility aesthetic
Writing
Chekhov references that actually land
Director
Sophie Barthes
Paul Giamatti
Paul
Emily Watson
Claire
Dina Korzun
Nina
David Strathairn
Dr. Flintstein
Katheryn Winnick
Sveta
Lauren Ambrose
Stephanie
Michael Stuhlbarg
Hedge Fund Consultant
Michael Tucker
Theatre Director
Armand Schultz
Astrov
Ted Koch
INS Officer
Oksana Lada
Sasha
Anna Dyukova
Olga
Charles Techman
Soul Storage Doorman
Laura Heisler
Female Client in Promo
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The film was inspired by director Sophie Barthes's own fever dream about discovering a soul-storage facility. She woke up and immediately wrote the script.
The movie anticipated the wellness industry's soul-searching industrial complex by a solid decade—soul extraction as service economy precursor to cryonics and biohacking.
US
