Ben Gottlieb — the touchingly soulful hero of the soulful, delightfully tetchy “Between the Temples” — is a mess. Yet because the filmmaker Nathan Silver has an appreciation for life’s ironies and likes putting a topspin on his comedy, Ben lives with both his mother and stepmother. Ben — a perfect Jason Schwartzman — is a sad sack, but he’s also just sad and for a very good, excruciating reason, too. They reconnect in a bar, where she helps the soused, deflated Ben, a kindness that takes an unexpected turn when she shows up at the synagogue. Judith says they think he “needs to start seeing a doctor,” a suggestion that Ben says he’s open to.

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Persons: Ben Gottlieb —, Nathan Silver, life’s ironies, Ben, Ben —, Jason Schwartzman —, he’s, Carla Kessler O’Connor, Carol Kane, Carla, Rabbi Bruce, Robert Smigel, Ben relents, Mason Wells, Meira, Judith, Caroline Aaron, Dolly de Leon, ” Locations: Ben, New York