April 26, 2026
by Carla Hay
“Group: The Schopenhauer Effect”
Directed by Alexis Lloyd
Culture Representation: Taking place in 2022, in New York City, the dramatic film “Group: The Schopenhauer Effect” (inspired by the 2005 novel “The Schopenhauer Cure”) features a cast of predominantly white characters (with one African American, one Latin person and one Asian person) representing the working-class and middle-class.
Culture Clash: A tight-knit group of New Yorkers, who meet weekly for group therapy sessions, find three of their sessions somewhat disrupted when a newcomer joins the group and states his intention to use his experiences in the group as research and inspiration for a TV series that he plans to write and direct.
Culture Audience: “Group: The Schopenhauer Effect” will appeal primarily to fans of skillfully acted, dialogue-driven movies that are deep-dives into the mindsets and insecurities of people in group therapy.
“Group: The Schopenhauer Effect” is unlike any film about group therapy. Just because this is a drama whose scenes are almost entirely of group therapy sessions doesn’t mean this movie is a talkative bore. It’s a dynamic and riveting portrayal of adults with highly individual personalities, insecurities, and desires. Much of the movie’s dialogue was improvised, which gives the story a realistic and unpredictable tone of what people might say and what could happen next.
Written and directed by Alexis Lloyd, “Group: The Schopenhauer Effect” is inspired by but not a direct adaptation of Irvin D. Yalom’s “The Schopenhauer Cure.” The movie’s story takes place over the course three weeks in 2022, in New York City, where “Group: The Schopenhauer Effect” was filmed on location. Just like a three-act play, “Group: The Schopenhauer Effect” has three separate sections that show what happens in three consecutive group therapy sessions that take place every week.
The beginning of “Group: The Schopenhauer Effect” shows the members of the group walking separately to the building where the therapy sessions take place. The group therapy sessions are in a relatively small room that resembles a study room in a university building or someone’s book-filled office. The inner thoughts of each member are heard in voiceovers, as they walk on the streets, until they arrive on an unnamed floor in this building that doesn’t have an elevator.
Some of the members look visibly nervous, while others look excited, and others look relatively calm. The session they are going to will be the first time that the group members will be seeing in two years, since the COVID-19 pandemic upended people’s lives in 2020. They did sessions over videoconference calls during that two-year period. Meeting in person brings different energies and expectations.
Being a part of this group is a selective process, which makes this group come across more like an exclusive clique than a welcoming bunch. This isn’t the type of therapy group where different people come and go every week. The group members have stayed in this group for an untold number of years. It’s rare for this group to add any new members.
Because this is a therapy group that discusses very private and sensitive information, the group members are expected to maintain confidentiality about what is talked about in these sessions. Even though it’s a tight-knit group, the group leader has set one major rule for everyone in the group: They cannot communicate or deliberately see each other outside of the group therapy sessions.
Session 1 begins with an announcement that upends the group’s chemistry and rattles some of the group members’ trust. Session 2 begins with another announcement that causes even more conflicts than an announcement from Session 1. Session 3 shows how these announcements and other revelations affect the group to the point where certain pivotal decisions are made.
There are only nine people who have speaking roles in this movie. They all portray members of the group. “Group: The Schopenhauer Effect” is such a well-written movie, none of these characters comes across as hollow or superficial. This is truly an ensemble movie with many terrific performances.
Here’s a summary of the nine members of the group:
- Dr. Ezra Hertzfeldt (played by Elliot Zeisel), who is in his 70s, is the psychotherapist who leads the group. Ezra’s group therapy style is to ask questions without revealing too many of his own personal opinions. Ezra is soft-spoken and intellectual. He will sometimes deflect when people ask him personal questions about himself, but he is usually candid if he is expected to give direct and honest answers.
- Rebecca (played by Teresa Avia Lim), who is in her 30s, is a bachelorette who works in estate law. She is bubbly, flirtatious, and likes to think of herself as sexually appealing. Rebecca has insecurities about her career and her life purpose that she talks about when makes an announcement that surprises many people in the group. She is also feeling vulnerable because of rise in anti-Asian bigotry as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Frank (played by Ezra Barnes), who is in his 60s, is a longtime editor at the Wall Street Journal. Frank is married with adult children. He likes to think of himself as calm and logical. However, his patience can be tested when other people are rude and try to talk over him. He’s not afraid to stand up for his principles if he feels he or other people are being mistreated or disrespected.
- Karina (played by Gabriela Kohen), who is in her 50s, is the most argumentative, neurotic and judgmental person in the group. Karina’s marital status isn’t mentioned, nor is it mentioned whether or not she’s a parent. Karina feels threatened and jealous if she thinks other women in the group are getting more attention than she is, but she isn’t afraid to admit her faults when she is confronted about her personality flaws.
- Tilda (played by Cara Ronzetti), who is in her 30s, is a bachelorette and the most free-spirited member of the group. She places a high value on personal choices and freedoms, even if they don’t conform to society standards, as long as these choices and freedoms don’t infringe on other’s people rights. Tilda, who identifies as queer, doesn’t like to be stereotyped, so she makes conscious efforts not to stereotype other people.
- Pam (played by Lucy Walters), who is in her 40s, is a bachelorette who surprises many in the group when she arrives to Session 1 and announces that she’s seven-and-a-half months pregnant. She tells the group that her unborn child’s father is “not in the picture.” Pam’s occupation is not mentioned but she has spent the past few months in Kyoto, Japan. Hints are dropped in the movie that Pam has a privileged and well-educated background.
- Manny (played by Bernardo Cubria), who is in his 40s, is a bachelor who is both proud of and insecure about being working-class. He’s the type of guy who doesn’t think it’s a big deal to get in a barroom brawl, while others in the group don’t condone violence as a way to resolve conflicts. Manny openly tells the group in Session 1 that he’s in love with Pam, but is the feeling mutual?
- Stuart (played by Elisha Lawson), who is in his 30s, is a bachelor who is the quietest and most introverted person in the group. Toward the end of the movie, Stuart opens up about some emotionally painful things about his family and how this trauma is affecting him now.
- Alexis (played by Thomas Sadoski), who is in his 40s, is a married father of underage kids. Alexis is a screenwriter/director and the group’s newest member. The movie’s Session 1 is Alexis’ first session with the group.
Alexis’ presence causes some tension and conflicts with most of the group members because Alexis says during this first session that he’s joining this therapy group because he wants inspiration and research for a scripted TV series that he’s writing and directing about group therapy. Ezra makes the announcement about Alexis when he introduces Alexis as the group’s newest member. Ezra explains that he accepted Alexi’s request to do this research, on the condition that Alexis join the group as a fully participating member, not someone who will just sit back and observe.
Karina loudly and vehemently objects to how Alexis was able to join the group because Karina thinks Ezra should’ve asked the group’s permission first. Karina openly questions if Alexis will breach group therapy confidentiality by putting personal information about the group members in the TV series but just changing their names. Karina also says she’s worried that Alex will treat the group members like “guinea pigs” in a scientific lab and says she feels “unsafe” with Alexis in the group.
Pam also expresses concerns about Alexis and what he will do with the information that he finds out in the group therapy sessions. Unlike Karina, Pam is tactful and chooses her words more carefully so that she won’t offend or alienate Alexis. The other members of the group have lesser degrees of concern about Alexis. Some are more upset with Ezra than with Alexis because they’re bothered by the fact that Ezra did not consult with any of the group members before making the decision to allow Alexis into the group.
In an effort to show that he’s serious about opening up about his life in this group therapy, Alexis tells the group that his father was a psychotherapist who recommended that Alexis try group therapy at least once. Alexis has had mixed feelings about group therapy and about psychotherapy in general. Alexis and Ezra met at an American Group Psychotherapy Association conference because Alexis was there for research and told Ezra about Alexis’ idea for the TV series.
The plot of this movie is very meta because in real life, “Group: The Schopenhauer Effect” write/director Lloyd spent a year embedded in a psychotherapy group as research for this movie. (That’s why it’s no coincidence that the filmmaker and the “newcomer” character have the same first name.) The character of Ezra is portrayed by real-life psychotherapist Dr. Elliot Zeisel.
As time goes on, other issues come to the forefront and are dealt with in various ways. The trailer for “Group: The Schopenhauer Effect” already reveals that Tilda confesses to a member of the group that she’s had a longtime crush on this member. Two people in the group disclose that they broke the rule of not being in contact with each other outside of the therapy sessions.
And simmering cauldrons of emotions erupt during the sessions, as some group members confront their inner demons or confront each other. All of the cast members perform well in their roles, but Avia Lim, Ronzetti, Zeisel and Kohen stand out for giving the most naturalistic performances. “Group: The Schopenhauer Effect” will take viewers on a roller coaster of emotions, with only a few moments somewhat resembling a soap opera subplot. The movie is ultimately a fascinating and witty observation of what it means to be human and how interpersonal relationships shape us all.
Abramorama released “Group: The Schopenhauer Effect” in New York City on March 5, 2026, with an expansion to more U.S cinemas on March 13, 2026.