Despite hitting festivals last year in Berlin, Austin and St. Louis, and a star-studded cast, it has taken a while for Billy Bob Thornton‘s ensemble dramedy “Jayne Mansfield’s Car” to make its way to theaters. But that may also be because studios just aren’t in the business of ensemble dramedies so much any more. But the writer/director/actor’s fourth feature is now on the way and it has been given a new trailer to get the word out.
Starring Thornton, Robert Duvall, John Hurt, Frances O’Connor, Ray Stevenson, Kevin Bacon and Robert Patrick, the film is set in 1969 and tells the story of Alabama family who learn that their bloodline spills over to England, with a funeral bringing the two dies of the clan together tumultuously. Seems like the kind of movie that trades in hardspun Southern charm and wisdom, but unfortunately it doesn’t quite work. As we wrote in our review out of Berlin, the picture is undercut by “off-key directorial choices, and a frustrating lack of narrative and characterisation consistency prevent the film from ever coalescing into something…satisfying.”
But you will soon be able to see for yourself. ‘Jayne’ hits VOD on August 20th and opens in limited release on September 13th.