If you’re feeling like you haven’t figured shit out and everyone else is growing up while you lag behind, take comfort in the fact that you are not alone. Laggies tells the story of Megan (Keira Knightley), a clever, creative twenty-something who is unemployed and disenchanted with daily life. Many would label her dilemma a classic quarter-life-crisis, but filmmaker Lynn Shelton (Humpday, Your Sister’s Sister) doesn’t like to call it that.

Over the phone from her home base in Seattle, Shelton, in a reassuringly motherly tone, describes it as more of a wake-up call. “It’s when you’ve been floating along, without taking stock of where you’re at. And then something happens that causes you to stand up, look in the mirror, face yourself and realize ‘Oh, this is where I am! How did that happen? How did I end up here?'”

Shelton defends Megan, who spends much of the film lounging in her pajamas or shuffling around her parents’ house. “The title Laggies is a bit of a mislead because I feel like the word implies a failure of some kind. This is a character that is really just being true to herself. We live in a society that makes her feel immature because she doesn’t want to follow in lock step with all of her friends, who are very happy to be going along in a subscribed timeline towards ‘adulthood.'”

The Graduate, Garden State, Scott Pilgrim Versus The World, Kicking and Screaming: there is no shortage of films that tackle the stories of young men growing up. It was Laggies’ female protagonist, an awkward young woman fumbling towards maturity, that hooked Shelton, “Women tend to have their act together, be more mature, be on the sidelines waiting either patiently or impatiently for the boyfriend or husband to catch up, grow up, or whatever. ” However, since she first read Andrea Seigel’s screenplay just a few years ago, she says things in the industry have changed, “I’ve seen more evidence of this kind of character played by women in popular culture. It’s refreshing and it’s really nice, I feel like this film is now a part of a cannon, as opposed to the only one.”

Nearing fifty, Shelton has a couple decades of life experience over Megan, yet she admits to relating closely to the young character. “On paper, I’m living this pretty conventional life. I have a husband, a kid, and a mortgage. But on the other hand, it took me 20 years to get me to be doing what I’m doing: directing feature films. It’s been a long circuitous route of trying all these other things out, but I feel like I’ve been able to live the artistic life and write my own script. I very much relate to Megan.”

In the film, Megan finds her adult footing by spending time with actual teenagers. It would be fun to go back to high school, like Megan, and figure stuff out. If that’s not doable, Shelton recommends taking structured time off. “We get so distracted with our lives, taking that time out is a great gift.” Sometimes, the path to self-discovery requires a pit stop.

Laggies opens Oct. 24th. Watch the trailer now.