Andy Singer (Michael Zegen) confronts his ex-wife Liz (Isabel Arraiza) after she drops their kid Anna (Kasey Bella Suarez) on him. His issue is that she’s taking Anna to Florida after he has to supervise her for a day. Unable to pass her off to anyone else, the actor/ realtor drags her to client showings. They also stop by his office where they steal his coworker’s listings. These moments have them discussing deeper issues like her echoing Liz’s sentiments about his lack of passion for things. This day helps him prove otherwise to her and show what they have in common. All this during a day making him realize he may never see her again. He learns to savor every moment with her while working for a commission that pays for his rent before his own eviction.

Simon Hacker’s Notice to Quit relies on its protagonists and one hopes that they go past some archetypal points. Anna is basically the precocious/ well balanced kid archetype, but aside from certain lines, the character and the actor playing her are mostly convincing. Andy is a mix of a few stereotypes in that he’s both a struggling man and a cheat in an industry of cheats. There are some scenes where the latter aspect of the character wins out, especially when Andy’s around other realtors. A scene in particular has him confronting his boss Michael Margolis (Victor Verhaeghe) about him getting subpar listings to sell. Michael, though, asks Andy that listings have appliances except for his, implying that he knows Andy is stealing said appliances.

I’m not a moralist although moments in Notice to Quit almost ruin it for me because of Andy’s sliminess. Also, almost every scene is a confrontation, making this a part of the ‘confront film,’ opposite of a comfort film. But at least a third of the film has scenes competently build up to previously mentioned confrontations. One such scene has Andy planting a roach at Anna’s food and coaching her to scream big to get a refund. These characters comprise a film building up to propagate a mythology of its setting, NYC. I mean, people plant bugs on their food to get refunds everywhere, but seeing it in this film makes me want to return to NYC.

As much as Notice to Quit feels quintessentially New York because of its textures, some scenes feel too much. Andy steals a listing from his rival Jackson (Eric Berryman) and almost gets trust fund babies to buy an apartment. But of course, Andy is Andy so he fumbles the bag but in ways that almost suspends my disbelief. The film plays that scene, like most of its scenes, loud, and Zegen obliges but in ways turning me off. I’m a second generation salesman who’s had flop eras but his behaviour doesn’t seem like the way salesmen behave. This and other parts feel like they exist to make Michael endure things but that’s what cinema is about sometimes.

Notice to Quit is available to stream on MUBI.