Not long ago, there was a brief bit of drama surrounding Gus Van Sant‘s upcoming “Restless.” As you might recall, the film was originally set to be released by Sony on January 25th. But the film was yanked from that slot and then transferred over to the arthouse arm, Sony Pictures Classics, who as it turns out are much better suited to handle the film. It’s now a major part of next month’s Cannes Film Festival where it will open the Un Certain Regard programming. And now, a new release date has been set for the film.
After spotting the date in a tucked-away piece atVariety, we have confirmed with a rep from Sony Pictures Classics that “Restless” will begin rolling out in limited release to New York and Los Angeles theaters on September 16th. It’s going to be a tough choice for auteur fans that weekend as Nicolas Winding Refn‘s “Drive” with Ryan Gosling will be hitting the same weekend. The film will also be coming up against the Sarah Jessica Parker romcom “I Don’t Know How She Does It,” the controversial remake of “Straw Dogs” and the sequel “Johnny English Reborn.” The date also happens to fall at the tail end of the Toronto International Film Festival which runs this year from September 8-18 so we presume it will be making a stop there as well.
To refresh your memory, “Restless” stars Mia Wasikowska, Henry Hopper, Schuyler Fisk and Ryo Kase and centers on the story of a terminally ill teenage girl (Wasikowska) who falls for a boy (Hopper) who likes to attend funerals and their encounters with the ghost of a Japanese kamikaze pilot from WWII (Kase). With this admittedly out there plot, it’s pretty easy to see why the major studio side decided to move it off their slate. And while it may seem tailor-made to be a quirkfest, we really liked Jason Lew’s script which is funny, sad, weird, and in many (good) ways all over the map with lots of interesting tones and tenors.
We’re definitely looking forward to see what Van Sant has in store. Look out for our review from Cannes next month.
