Margaret Qualley is one of the best up-and-coming actors working today. After a couple of star-making performances in “The Leftovers” and last year’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” she is set up to be a major force in films and TV. And in the upcoming drama, “My Salinger Year,” she’s given the starring role to show off her acting chops opposite the powerhouse known as Sigourney Weaver.
As seen in the trailer for “My Salinger Year,” the film follows a young, aspiring writer (Qualley) that takes a job at JD Salinger’s literary agency as an assistant to a “Devil Wears Prada”-esque boss (Weaver). After discovering that the agency takes the fan letters written to Salinger and never forwards them to the elusive author, the young woman takes it upon herself to use it as an opportunity to express her voice.
The film stars Margaret Qualley, Sigourney Weaver, Douglas Booth, Brian F. O’Byrne, and Yanic Truesdale. “My Salinger Year” is written and directed by Philippe Falardeau. Previously, the filmmaker directed features such as “Monsieur Lazhar,” “The Good Lie,” and “Chuck.”
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We saw the film earlier this year when it screened as part of the Berlin Film Festival. In our review, we said, “The film’s smorgasbord of strong performances, and gorgeous autumnal production design, particularly outweigh the script’s shortfalls. It’s undeniable that ‘My Salinger Year’ puts forward a strong argument for maintaining simplicity.”
“My Salinger Year” has yet to be given an official release date in the US. But clearly, it’s coming soon.
Here’s the long-form synopsis from the Berline Film Festival where the film debuted earlier this year
Joanna dreams of being an author. But in 1990s New York, that is a difficult path to take. So, when she gets a job as assistant to literary agent Margaret, she is only too aware that she must seize this opportunity with both hands. She stays calm when the phones don’t stop ringing and deals confidently with her old-fashioned and stubborn boss. In any case, everything in the agency seems to revolve around just one person – the aging cult author J.D. Salinger, whose fan mail Joanna answers. While in her private life she distances herself more and more from her socialist “boyfriend”, this young woman does makes inroads towards her vocation through Salinger, of all people, who has become something of a phantom. Films that approach writing and literature and our relationship to them in a serious but moving way still exist. Based on Joanna Rakoff’s coming-of-age memoir, My Salinger Year is transformed by newcomer Margaret Qualley and film star Sigourney Weaver into a wonderful portrait of the different generations and their ambitions – and the grande dame that is literature.
