“Waves”
Cast: Kelvin Harrison Jr., Alexa Demie, Sterling K. Brown, Lucas Hedges, Taylor Russell, Clifton Collins Jr., Neil Huff, Krisha Fairchild
Synopsis: The epic emotional journey of a suburban African-American family as they navigate love, forgiveness, and coming together in the aftermath of a loss.
What You Need to Know: Trey Edward Shults is a tough director to categorize. His debut, “Krisha,” was rattling psychological freakout that built up to the most contentious Thanksgiving dinner in cinema history. Follow-up “It Comes At Night” was a deadly serious survivalist horror movie that featured a considerably starrier cast. Shults is reteaming with the studio that distributed his first two movies (A24) for the vivid coming-of-age drama “Waves,” which sounds like another one of the director’s bruising portraits of family life. “Waves” will reunite Shults with talented young actor Kelvin Harrison Jr., who will play Tyler: a prodigious high-school wrestler whose relationship with his well-to-do family and adoring girlfriend (“Euphoria’s” Alexa Demie) is exposed to sudden pressure. With critics drawing comparisons to “Moonlight” and Terrence Malick, plus a score from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross and a wave of favorable Telluride buzz, we’re expecting big things from this one when it drops in early November.
Release Date: November 1st – NL
https://twitter.com/ThePlaylist/status/1168569272970334216
“The Personal History of David Copperfield”
Cast: Dev Patel, Tilda Swinton, Hugh Laurie, Peter Capaldi, Ben Whishaw, Aneurin Barnard, Benedict Wong, Gwendoline Christie
Synopsis: Prizes satirist Armando Iannucci takes on the classic Charles Dickens tale.
What You Need to Know: Fresh off his bleak 2018 comedy “The Death of Stalin,” Iannucci returns to the director’s chair to bring Dickens to life in what we’re guessing is the only way he knows how: with a ton of irony. This seems to be a bit mysterious for an adaptation of the well-known Victorian-era book, so we’re eager to see what Iannucci has cooked up. Just the fact that he’s reuniting with Capaldi in a movie after their collaborations on revered political satire series “The Thick of It” and 2009 gut-buster “In the Loop” is celebration enough. Fox Searchlight will be distributing what could be one of the hidden gems of Toronto.
Release Date: Unknown, likely 2020 – CW
https://twitter.com/ThePlaylist/status/1164562698077691905
“Radioactive”
Cast: Rosamund Pike, Ana Taylor-Joy, Aneurin Barnard
Synopsis: A story of the scientific and romantic passions of Marie and Pierre Curie, and the reverberation of their discoveries throughout the 20th century.
What You Need to Know: Director Marjane Satrapi has perhaps had one of the most under-appreciated intriguing careers of any modern filmmaker. She’s jumped from different formats to genres, best known initially for her “Persepolis” graphic novel which detailed her own experiences, she broke out on the film circuit for her wildly imaginative animated adaptation of her own work. She then directed the films “Chicken with Plums,” a film that deals with grief, death, and magical realism and then “The Voices,” a dark comedy horror starring Ryan Reynolds. Her latest project starring Rosamund Pike continues to showcase her willingness to play within the format. Centered on the real-life of Marie Curie, the first woman to win My Zothe NobelPrize, the film is based on the novel by Lauren Redniss.
ReleaseDate: TBD 2020 – Allyson Johnson
https://twitter.com/ThePlaylist/status/864579236580868096
“My Zoe”
Cast: Julie Delpy, GemmaArterton, Lindsay Duncan
Synopsis: A divorced mother looks to protect her daughter after an unexpected tragedy.
What You Need to Know: Julie Delpy has had an eclectic career from her work with Richard Linklater and Ethan Hawke in the pivotal “Before Sunrise” trilogy to her directorial work in films such as “2 Days in Paris” and “2 Days in New York.” A radical feminist voice in cinema, her own writing and directing has skewered more comedic and off-beat but with her upcoming film “My Zoe,” it looks like the actress/writer/director will be moving towards a more dramatic storyline. Delpy’s voice has always been strong in any project she’s had a hand in writing and “My Zoe,” with the undercurrent of tragedy running through the narrative, it will be interesting to see just how she marries the concept with her own strong vision. Delpy will also star in the film along with Lindsay Duncan and Daniel Brühl.
ReleaseDate: TBD – AJ
https://twitter.com/ThePlaylist/status/804425404924559360
“Mrs. Fletcher”
Cast: Kathryn Hahn, Casey Wilson, Owen Teague
Synopsis: A single mom whose son has moved out for college looks to begin a new life on her own.
What You Need to Know: Kathryn Hahn delivered one of 2018’s best performances in the underseen “Private Life” on Netflix about a woman’s plight with her husband in trying to adopt a child. Now, with the upcoming comedy series Mrs. Fletcher, Hahn will be given ample time to demonstrate just why she’s one of the great comedy gifts working today, bringing an everyday affable likability to her characters, no matter the situations they find themselves in. Making the series all the more alluring is the involvement of producer/director Nicole Holofcener whose work includes directing films such as “Enough Said,” “Lovely & Amazing” and “Walking and Talking” and writing last years tremendous “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” If you need more incentive, the series will be based on the novel by TomPerrotta whose last collaboration with HBO was the astonishing adaptation of his novel “The Leftovers.”
Release Date: October 27th on HBO. – AJ
