NEON has released the trailer for Duke Johnson’s “The Actor” starring André Holland, Gemma Chan, May Calamawy, Olwen Fouéré, Toby Jones, Simon McBurney, Joe Cole, Tracey Ullman, Tanya Reynolds, Asim Chaudhry, Youssef Kerkour & Edward Hogg. The film will be released in theaters on March 14th, 2025.
Plot Synopsis: Based on the novel Memory by Donald E. Westlake, The Actor finds Paul Cole (Holland) stranded in a mysterious small town with no memory of who he is or how he got here. Without a sense of identity or purpose, he starts from scratch and begins courting a local costume designer Edna (Chan). As bits and pieces of his past slowly emerge, he attempts to find his way home, but time is slippery, appearances can’t be trusted, and it’s unclear which of his identities is real.
What do you all think of the trailer? I really liked Duke Johnson’s work with Charlie Kaufman on “Anomalisa” (But I’m also a sucker for anything Charlie Kaufman creates), so I’ve been looking forward to this one for a while now. I was quite surprised to find out it’s coming out so soon, which only speaks to how confident NEON is in it that this didn’t get a fall release when we thought it would, nor will it be an awards vehicle for André Holland, one of our best working actors today still waiting for that big role that will get him to the dance. Instead, what we have here is a hypnotic, hazy, dreamlike throwback to what appears to be some stylistic homages to the 1950s with a splash of surrealism. I’m still looking forward to it, all things considered. I just need to readjust my expectations, is all. What do you all think? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below or on our X account.
