Even though troubled actor Ezra Miller is reportedly in treatment after a year of personal and legal scandals, some big questions remain. For example, will Miller ever return to their relative stardom pre-2022? And will Warner Bros. Discovery go ahead with the release of “The Flash” next June? And is Miller now persona non grata in Hollywood after their tumultuous year?
Miller’s issues, and their future, may overshadow the films they’re involved in, and that’s not fair to Mary Harron‘s “Daliland.” The movie has its world premiere at TIFF later this month as the festival’s closing film. But The Hollywood Reporter reports that Harron doesn’t have ill will toward Miller and is glad they are finally seeking treatment. The director doesn’t expect Miller to be at TIFF to help promote the film, but that’s because the actor’s mental health is more important right now. “It’s been very distressing and I’m glad that they have sought treatment and I don’t think they should be doing anything besides getting treatment right now,” Harron said. The rest of the world agrees with you, Ms. Harron.
Despite the actor’s ongoing issues, Harron praised Miller’s performance in the upcoming film as a young Salvidor Dali. “They arrived on set with a completely realized performance,” Harron said. “They just dived very deep into the character, similar to how Ben Kingsley arrived on set.” Both Kinglsey and Miller play Dali in the biopic, which follows the surrealist artist’s tempestuous marriage to his wife, Gala. Barbara Sukowa plays Gala in the upcoming film. “Daliland” also stars Christopher Briney, Rupert Graves, Alexander Beyer, and Avital Lvova.
Miller was originally cast in the role of James in “Daliland,” a young art enthusiast who finds himself in the thick of the older Dali’s career and married life. However, scheduling conflicts with “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore” caused Miller to play a younger Dali instead, with newcomer Briney taking over the more central James role.
“Daliland” is Harron’s first film since 2018’s “Charlie Says,” which premiered at the Venice Film Festival that year. She’s also done “The Moth Diaries,” “The Notorious Bettie Page,” and 200’s “American Psycho” with Christian Bale. On the central romance of “Daliland,” Harron said, “Someone said Gala did more than anyone to make Dali’s art possible, and more than anyone to destroy it.” So, expect “Daliland” to be a turbulent film, to say the least.
Follow The Playlist’s coverage of TIFF later this month for our review of “Daliland.”
