James Gray's 'The Immigrant' Starring Marion Cotillard & Joaquin Phoenix Will Land In Limited Release On May 16

The Immigrant

“I thought there was something very beautiful about exploring a melodrama from a female protagonist’s perspective because all of a sudden I would be free from the constraints of, what I would call, macho posturing, male behavior and get straight to the emotional heart of it,” director James Gray said last fall of his upcoming drama “The Immigrant,” which stars Marion Cotillard.

Also starring Joaquin Phoenix and Jeremy Renner, the set-in-1920s New York movie, gorgeously shot by Darius Khondji, will see release this spring by The Weinstein Company on May 2nd 16th. The opening will be a limited release in New York and L.A. and yes, it’s not going VOD; at least right now. And it’s no longer a Radius/TWC release (the company changed gears on that decision). The film will begin to expand after that. 

Included in the list of our 21 Best Films Of 2014 We’ve Already Seen, “The Immigrant” chronicles Polish émigré Ewa (Marion Cotillard), who comes to America with her ailing sister through New York’s famous immigration port Ellis Island and then becomes entwined in the lives of two men: a manipulative pimp (Phoenix) and a kind magician (Renner). A mature and thoughtful morality tale the movie explores—in a measured and elegant manner—the idea of forgiving those who are seemingly beyond salvation (read our review of the film from Cannes here).

In other release date news, Sony has changed the date of Neill Blomkamp’s sci-fi comedy “Chappie” ever so slightly. Originally due on March 27, 2015, the movie has now been bumped up three weeks to March 6, 2015, where it will face off against “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel 2” and Fox‘s just-dated Untitled Vince Vaughn movie.

4.15.14 Update: The U.S. version of the poster has been release.

The Immigrant, poster