AMERICAN PASTORAL Trailer: Ewan McGregor's Directorial Debut Goes Dark
The world is in turmoil right now, so it looks like Ewan McGregor's directorial debut, an adaptation of Philip Roth's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel American Pastoral, will be more timely than ever. Lionsgate has just released the first poster and trailer, which taps into civil unrest and piques my interest in a big way. Here's a statement from McGregor that came along with the press release:
I have dreamt of directing a feature for the last 15 years and never found the 'right' story. I wanted to direct, not for the sake of being a director, but because there was a story I HAD to tell. Well American Pastoral gave me everything I was looking for. I was incredibly lucky that I had Lakeshore's trust and incredible talent in front of and behind the camera to make Roth's story the film I thought it should be. The creative collaboration with the cast and the crew was as thrilling as I had hoped it would be. I was a very happy man making this film and it is the film I wanted it to be.
I have to admit that when I heard the first few notes of "Mad World" come in, I immediately balked because that song is so clearly associated with Donnie Darko. But after watching the whole trailer and seeing the desperation and discontent it depicts, it's an admittedly apt song choice.
McGregor stars alongside Jennifer Connelly and Dakota Fanning, and the film arrives in theaters on October 21, 2016. What do you think?
Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning Philip Roth novel, AMERICAN PASTORAL follows a family whose seemingly idyllic existence is shattered by the social and political turmoil of the 1960s. Ewan McGregor (Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, Beginners) makes his directorial debut and stars as Seymour "Swede" Levov, a once legendary high school athlete who is now a successful businessman married to Dawn, a former beauty queen. But turmoil brews beneath the polished veneer of Swede's life. When his beloved teenage daughter, Merry, disappears after being accused of committing a violent act, Swede dedicates himself to finding her and reuniting his family. What he discovers shakes him to the core, forcing him to look beneath the surface and confront the chaos that is shaping the world around him.