In “The Meddler,” Susan Sarandon (“Robot & Frank,” 2012; Oscar actress recipient, “Dead Man Walking,” 1995) gives a free-form, spirited and informed performance as Marnie, a New City widow who moves to Los Angeles to assuage her loneliness and give her daughter, Lori (Rose Byrne, “X-Men: Apocalypse,” 2016; X-Men: First Class,” 2011; “Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising,” 2016; “Neighbors,” 2014) dating, life-lesson amd career tips.

Meanwhile, Marnie could use some advice when she meets a retired police officer (the always excellent J.K. Simmons, Oscar supporting actor recipient, “Whiplash,” 2014). Byrne, as Marnie’s daughter, Lori, and a TV show writer-director, walks the fine line between creating an unlikeable character and being unlikeable. Good supporting roles performances are also provided by Cecily Strong as a new bride, Lucy Punch as a new mother and Jerrod Carmichael as a young student.

It’s Sarandon’s film and she creates a character of a woman possessed, possessed of great confidence, that is, while seemingly unaware of the damage she may leave in her wake. Marnie seems so lonely that her smart phone is her best friend. As a kind of Fairy Godmother from “Cinderella,” she lavishes a generous spirit on all she meets. She seems to have time for everyone but herself. As a widow, Sarandon’s character doesn’t seem that forelorn. She’s in denial. Sarandon gives a very naturalistic performance as a doyen with advice for everybody, even her therapist.

Can mother and daughter achieve a modicum of understanding? See the film to find out.

Writer-director Lorene Scafaria (screenwriter, “Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist,” 2008) keeps the story perculating because she lets the actors shine. Scafaria uses Los Angeles and environs (the Pacific Coast Highway), the sunny atmosphere and the California lifestyle (cell phones, tablets and the like seem as essential as good grooming). Of L.A, Marnie says, “It’s like living on Main Street in Disneyland.”

“The Meddler” is a film of immense humanity and quiet beauty (when Marnie is not talking, that is).

“The Meddler,”MPAA Rated PG-13 (Parents Strongly Cautioned. Some Material May Be Inappropriate For Children Under 13.) for brief drug content; Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance; Run time: 1 hr., 40 min. Distributed by Sony Pictures Classics.

Credit Readers Anonymous:“The Meddler” includes a scene where John Popper of Blues Traveler performs.

Box Office,June 10: “The Conjuring 2” scared up $40.3 million to open at No. 1, defeating “Warcraft,” opening at No. 2 with $24.3 million, keeping “Now You See Me 2,” opening at No. 3 with $23 million, and sending “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows” scurrying from No. 1 back to No. 4, with $14.8 million, $61 million, two weeks;

5. “X-Men: Apocalypse,” $10 million, $136.3 million, three weeks; 6. “Me Before You,” $9.2 million, $36.8 million, two weeks; 7. “The Angry Birds Movie,” $6.7 million, $98.1 million, four weeks; 8. “Alice Through the Looking Glass,” $5.5 million, $62.4 million, three weeks; 9. ”Captain America: Civil War,” $4.3 million, $396.8 million, six weeks; 10. “The Jungle Book,” $2.7 million, $352.6 million, nine weeks; 22. “The Meddler,” $135,057, $3.9 million, eight weeks

Unreel,June 17:

“Finding Dory,”PG: Andrew Stanton and Angus MacLane direct the voice talents of Ellen DeGeneres, Albert Brooks, Idris Elba and Kate McKinnon in the “Finding Nemo” animation feature adventure comedy sequel about the blue fish and her friends and family.

“Central Intelligence,”PG-13: Rawson Marshall Thurber directs Dwayne Johnson, Aaron Paul, Kevin Hart and Amy Ryan in the comedy about a CIA agent who teams up with an old friend, an accountant, for some international espionage action.

“Swiss Army Man,”R: Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert direct Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Daniel Radcliffe, Paul Dano and Timothy Eulich in the fantasy comedy about a stranded man who befriends a man who returns to life.

Three Popcorn Boxes out of Five Popcorn Boxes