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"Acidman," which just had its premiere at this year's Tribeca Film Festival, is the third feature film from writer-director Alex Lehmann. Between 2016's gorgeous black-and-white "Blue Jay," with Mark Duplas and Sarah Paulson, and 2019's "Paddleton," starring Ray Romano and Mark Duplass, and now his latest, Lehmann is a director who likes two-handers (i.e., films with only two main characters).

There are a few reasons to speculate why Lehmann likes to operate in a similar mode from film-to-film. The most obvious is the budgetary constraints of making an independent feature, because the fewer people a production has to pay, the better for the balance sheet. On the thematic side, having a small, quiet film focus on two people allows for the director to key into the emotional beats and not have to divide 87 minutes of runtime among a sprawling cast. This has become Lehmann's signature as a filmmaker, and "Acidman" isn't any different.

Dianna Agron (of TV's "Glee" fame and seen last year in the wonderful cringe-comedy "Shiva Baby") plays Maggie, a woman who has been estranged from her father Lloyd (Thomas Haden Church) for a few years. As the movie opens, she is trekking to his house in the middle of nowhere and is shocked by the sight she sees upon arrival. His yard is a mess, house falling apart, and graffiti is scrawled across the side of his house. Maggie isn't entirely sure why she decided to come but hesitantly makes her way inside.

Through awkward pleasantries and dead air, Maggie learns that her father believes he can spot UFOs and make contact with aliens. He mysteriously sneaks away at night, but quickly Maggie is on to his evening ritual and starts to join him. The screenplay, co-written by Lehmann and Chris Dowling, is about as subtle as a sledgehammer when it comes to its story of making connections, but Lehmann's direction keeps the movie feeling much more intimate than its big idea screenplay offers.

Agron and Church are both strong but the performances work best together, which is the sign of a successful two-hander film. The history between the father-daughter duo feels palpable, and Lehmann allows his viewers to feel their pain and regret. Church, who many may know from his early career, became a more mainstream name with his Oscar-nominated performance in 2005's "Sideways" (with all due respect to Morgan Freeman, Church should have won). His performance here feels like a culmination of a career with ups-and-downs and several different starting points.

"Acidman" lends a hand to those who may feel lonely in the world, trying to live their lives in any way that makes sense to them. "Acidman" never aims to mock Lloyd, but instead seeks to describe him and make us understand him. That's all a director should do for his audience and let them make up their minds as the movie goes along.

"Acidman" premiered at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival. It is currently seeking distribution.