Here’s an interesting TIFF title: Jonathan Teplitzky‘s semi-autobiographical “The Burning Man,” which stars Matthew Goode as a successful chef at a Bondi Beach restaurant who reacts to personal tragedy with reckless behavior and an inability to connect with his 8-year-old son as a number of women in his life try to save him.
The first poster and trailer for the film as well as a handful of images and a new clip have now been unveiled, exhibiting at the very least a vibrant, well-shot feature led by rising star, Goode. Admittedly we’ve seen little of the film so far, but based on the marketing alone, we’re curious to see what Teplitzsky — who has just signed on to direct Goode’s “A Single Man” co-star Colin Firth in “The Railway Man” — has conjured up. Rising Australian actress Bojana Novakovic co-stars along side Rachel Griffiths, Essie Davies, Anthony Hayes and Kerry Fox with Lisa Gerrard (“Gladiator,” “The Insider“) scoring the film.
The film’s TIFF Programmer Notes from Jane Schoettle call the pic a “reckless, haunting, funny and ultimately life-affirming love story.” Reviews for the film from Toronto have been few and far between, but what we could find has been a mixed bag. Here’s an expanded synopsis;
Why is Tom behaving so badly? Six women and an eight-year-old boy are fighting, in very different ways, to help. But for Tom, it seems, there are no rules. Burning Man is the reckless, provocative and moving story of a father and son’s journey back to happiness.
The poster, trailer and images can be seen below with the clip viewable over at Deadline.