American Pastoral (film)
| American Pastoral | |
|---|---|
.png) Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Ewan McGregor |
| Produced by |
|
| Screenplay by | John Romano |
| Based on |
American Pastoral by Philip Roth |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Alexandre Desplat |
| Cinematography | Martin Ruhe |
| Edited by | Melissa Kent |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Lionsgate |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 108 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $932,554[2] |
American Pastoral is a 2016 American crime-drama film directed by Ewan McGregor, making his directorial debut, and written by John Romano, based on the 1997 novel of the same name by Philip Roth. The film stars McGregor, Jennifer Connelly, Dakota Fanning, Peter Riegert, Rupert Evans, Uzo Aduba, Molly Parker and David Strathairn. Principal photography began on September 21, 2015 in Pittsburgh.
The film had its world premiere on September 9, 2016 at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival.[3] The film was released in the United States on October 21, 2016 by Lionsgate.
Plot
At the 40-year reunion of the graduating class of Weequahic High School in Newark, New Jersey; author Nathan Zuckerman meets one of his old friends, Jerry Levov. They talk about Jerry's brother, former star athlete Seymour "Swede" Levov, who recently died after a long illness.
In a flashback, Swede persuades his father, glovemaking magnate Lou Levov, to let him marry his high school sweetheart, beauty queen Dawn Dwyer. Lou is skeptical because Dawn is a devout Roman Catholic, but gives in. They have a daughter, Meredith, or "Merry," and settle in the town of Old Rimrock, where they acquire a large farm.
For much of her life, Merry struggles with a stuttering problem, but her parents are unable to get a handle on it. By the time Merry reaches high school, she has become increasingly radicalized as the Vietnam War rages, and frequently goes to New York City to take part in antiwar protests. Fearing for her safety, Swede urges Merry to channel her energy into protesting against the war at home.
A few days later, the local post office and gas station are blown up by a massive bomb, killing the gas station's owner. Merry disappears soon afterward, and is the prime suspect in the bombing. She isn't even heard from again until Rita Cohen, a student at the Wharton School, comes ostensibly to do a study on the glovemaking industry, and tips off Swede that she knows about Merry's whereabouts. Swede meets Rita in a hotel, but spurns Rita's attempts to seduce him. The strain of Merry's disappearance briefly sends Dawn into a mental hospital. She gets a facelift soon afterward, and tries to get Swede to forget about Merry.
Years later, when leaving a gallery crawl, Swede spots Rita on the street. Rita takes him to a skid-row area of Newark where Merry now lives. Merry wants to withdraw from society, as apparent penance for her crimes. She has no desire to return home even when Swede tries to trigger her childhood memories at another visit. Swede never recovers psychologically, and never sees Merry again.
Back in the present, Nathan and Jerry attend Swede's funeral. As the guests are about to leave, Merry arrives, having not seen her father in years, and lays her hand on the casket.
Cast
- Ewan McGregor as Seymour "Swede" Levov, a former high school star athlete and a successful Jewish American businessman.[4] His character is based on college athlete Seymour "Swede" Masin.
- Jennifer Connelly as Dawn Dwyer Levov, a former beauty queen and wife of Seymour.[5]
- Dakota Fanning as Meredith "Merry" Levov, daughter of Seymour and Dawn, who commits an act of political terrorism at the age of 16.[6]
- Rupert Evans as Jerry Levov, Seymour's younger brother.[7]
- Valorie Curry as Rita Cohen, a mysterious woman who hires Merry to commit terrorism against the government, including a post office bomb-blast.[8]
- David Strathairn as Nathan Zuckerman, a former classmate of Seymour's brother, Jerry.[9]
- Uzo Aduba as Vicky[9]
- Peter Riegert as Lou Levov, father of Seymour and a successful Jewish American businessman and glove manufacturer.[9]
- Molly Parker as Dr. Sheila Smith[10]
- Samantha Mathis as Penny Hamlin
- Ocean James as 8 year old Merry Levov
Production
In 2003, Lakeshore Entertainment started the development of the film with Phillip Noyce directing it, titled as Pastoral.[11][12] Later Paramount Pictures acquired the rights, and in May 2012, Fisher Stevens was hired to direct the John Romano's adapted script and Sidney Kimmel Entertainment also attached as financier and producer along with Lakeshore.[11][12] Jennifer Connolly and Paul Bettany were once attached for the lead roles, along with Evan Rachel Wood as their daughter.[6] Tom Rosenberg and Gary Lucchesi would be producers. Mandy Patinkin was attached to play one of the film's roles, and filming was reportedly begun in and around Pittsburgh.[13]
On June 23, 2014, Ewan McGregor signed on to play the lead role of Seymour "Swede" Levov, a former high school star athlete and successful Jewish American businessman.[4] Phillip Noyce was hired to direct the film.[4] On August 4, Connolly signed on to play Dawn Dwyer Levov, the former beauty queen and wife of Levov.[6] On August 6, Dakota Fanning was added the cast of the film to play the daughter, Merry Levov.[5] In October 2015 Luke Whoriskey joined the cast as Ewan's son Jacob Levov.
On February 18, 2015, it was announced that McGregor would also be directing the film, making his debut after Noyce left the project.[12] On July 9, 2015, Valorie Curry joined the cast of the film to play Rita Cohen, a mysterious young woman from the group of radicals that has led Merry to bomb a rural post office in protest against the government in general and Vietnam War in particular.[8] On September 2, 2015, David Strathairn, Uzo Aduba, and Peter Riegert were added to the cast to play former classmate of the businessman Nathan Zuckerman, Vicky, and Lou Levov, respectively.[9] Corey Stoll also joined the film for an unspecified role.[14] On October 15, Rupert Evans signed on to play Seymour's younger brother Jerry Levov.[7] Molly Parker also joined the film.[10]
Filming
Principal photography on the film commenced on September 21, 2015 in Harmony, Pennsylvania.[14][15] Filming continued on location around Pittsburgh through November, including the North Side, Downtown, Liberty Avenue, Wilkinsburg, Lawrenceville, and the grounds of the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary.[16]
Release
On April 28, 2016, it was announced that American Pastoral would be given a limited theatrical release on October 21, 2016 from Lionsgate, followed by a wide release on October 28.[17]
Critical response
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 21%, based on 71 reviews, with an average rating of 4.8/10. The consensus reads: "American Pastoral finds debuting director Ewan McGregor's reach exceeding its grasp with a well-intentioned Philip Roth adaptation that retains the form, but little of the function, of its source material."[18] On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating, the film has a score 44 out of 100, based on 28 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[19] A Toronto Star review said the film "fails to illuminate the audience".[20]
References
- ↑ "American Pastoral (15)". British Board of Film Classification. October 19, 2016. Retrieved October 19, 2016.
- ↑ "American Pastoral". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
- ↑ "Toronto To Open With 'The Magnificent Seven'; 'La La Land', 'Deepwater Horizon' Among Galas & Presentations". Deadline. July 26, 2016. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
- 1 2 3 Ford, Rebecca (June 23, 2015). "Ewan McGregor to Star in Phillip Noyce's 'American Pastoral'". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
- 1 2 McNary, Dave (August 6, 2014). "Dakota Fanning Joins Ewan McGregor in 'American Pastoral'". variety.com. Retrieved September 4, 2015.
- 1 2 3 Yamato, Jen (August 4, 2014). "Jennifer Connelly Heads To 'American Pastoral'". deadline.com. Retrieved September 4, 2015.
- 1 2 McNary, Dave (October 15, 2015). "Rupert Evans Joins Ewan McGregor's 'American Pastoral'". variety.com. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
- 1 2 Ford, Rebecca (July 9, 2015). "'The Following's' Valorie Curry Joins Ewan McGregor's 'American Pastoral' (Exclusive)". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 Sneider, Jeff (September 2, 2015). "Uzo Aduba, David Strathairn Join Ewan McGregor's 'American Pastoral'". thewrap.com. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
- 1 2 White, James (October 15, 2015). "Rupert Evans Cast In American Pastoral". empireonline.com. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
- 1 2 McNary, Dave (May 16, 2012). "Fisher Stevens to helm 'American Pastoral'". variety.com. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
- 1 2 3 McNary, Dave (February 18, 2015). "Ewan McGregor to Make Directorial Debut with 'American Pastoral'". variety.com. Retrieved September 4, 2015.
- ↑ "'American Pastoral' begins filming around Pittsburgh". onlocationvacations.com. November 6, 2012. Retrieved September 4, 2015.
- 1 2 "The Feature Film 'American Pastoral' Casting Call for Actors and Extras". acting-auditions.org. Archived from the original on September 8, 2015. Retrieved September 4, 2015.
- ↑ "On the Set for 9/25/15: Actor/Director Ewan McGregor Starts Shooting 'American Pastoral', Rob Reiner Rolls Cameras on LBJ Biopic". ssninsider.com. September 25, 2015. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
- ↑ Sciullo, Maria (November 4, 2016). "Pittsburgh-area sites shine in 'American Pastoral' film featuring local actor". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved November 4, 2016.
- ↑ "Ewan McGregor's 'American Pastoral' Gets October Release". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. April 28, 2016. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
- ↑ "American Pastoral (2016)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
- ↑ "American Pastoral reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved September 10, 2016.
- ↑ Howell, Peter. "American Pastoral fails to illuminate audience"]. Toronto Star, October 21, 2016. page E2,