It can’t be easy being Ben Stiller; there’s this heavy expectancy from audiences for him to be funny in every film he appears in. Obviously he only has himself to blame, being a comic actor and all, but the pressure to be funny and appeal to a large worldwide audience must be immense. But even Mr Rubber Face himself, Jim Carrey, has mixed it up a bit in his career, taking big some risks with some of his projects, the most recent of which - I Love You Philip Morris - is a fine example.

Sadly for Stiller though, he appears to be suffering from sequelitis: Night at the Museum 2 is already out there, soon to be joined by another dose of Meet the Fockers, with Zoolander 2 being a real possibility on the horizon. It’s starting to feel like he’s ready to just give up. Perhaps Greenberg arrived in the nick of time.

As a favour to his brother and his family who are jetting off on their hols, Roger Greenberg has agreed to house-sit while they’re away. He’s been out of the LA loop for quite some time, living as he now does in NYC. This makes it the perfect time to re-connect with old buddies; there’s his old band mate Ivan (Rhys Ifans) and old flame Beth (Jennifer Jason Leigh). But catching up with old times doesn’t give off that warm glow inside that they were all possibly hoping for.

While staying at the house Roger is introduced to Florence (Greta Gerwig), his brother’s personal assistant, who has been left in charge of the family dog and also asked to help Roger settle in. Quickly, the pair find themselves involved in an awkward and unhealthy relationship.

For Greenberg, this homecoming acts as a violent wake-up call, but one that leaves him with more questions than answers.

Who says I can't act? See, this is me as a statue. Impressive huh?

Director Noah Baumbach can certainly do touching and downbeat; he wrote 2004’s The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, as well as wrote and directed the following year’s The Squid and the Whale. Greenberg could be his most touching and downbeat project to date.

Kudos must be given to Stiller in what is an extremely brave performance as the completely dislikeable eponymous character. He is selfish, awkward around everyone and uses chapstick far too often for a grown man. But Stiller being Stiller still manages to bring a subtle level of humour to the role. That’s right, Stiller can do subtle. Despite Greenberg being a completely despicable being, Stiller makes him hugely watchable.

But it’s not only Stiller who shines: Ifans is unusually understated as the old friend, and it’s just great to see Jason Leigh acting again, proving she’s still got what it takes.

Despite Stiller’s bravery, it could be argued that Gerwig just steals his thunder. Her role as Gerwig could quite easily be the one to propel her from relative obscurity into a definite one to watch. There’s a stark and breathtaking honesty in her portrayal of Florence that just adds an almost tangible vulnerability to the character.

The brutality of realism is at its highest when Stiller and Gerwig share the screen. They are two characters that are both equally damaged, although in different ways, hoping that whatever they’re looking for in each other is there, when clearly it’s not.

Greenberg is reminiscent of Indie Hollywood at its finest. The type of film that ends up being labelled quirky for the simple reason that if it’s clearly not mainstream Hollywood, that’s really the only thing that it can be.

It deals with the seemingly hopelessness of both friendships and relationships. The two central characters are damaged goods, and yet the film is far from being their uplifting journey into one another’s arms. Life doesn’t work that way and remarkably the film doesn’t shy away from showing that fact.

At times it can be an awkward watch, mainly due to the brilliance of Stiller, but it’s always compelling. When he looks back on his long and wacky career, you can imagine that this may well be the film that Stiller is most proud of. And quite right too. Who knows, now that he’s got a taste for it, he may even giving this acting lark a go.