AWriter-director Robin Swicord’s (The Jane Austen Book Club) new drama Wakefield has been acquired by IFC Films for U.S. distribution rights. The film is based on the 2008 short story by award-winning novelist E.L. Doctorow, which itself is a retelling of a Nathaniel Hawthorne short story of the same name.
Emmy winner and Academy Award-nominated actor Bryan Cranston (Trumbo) stars as Howard Wakefield, married lawyer in the suburbs who on the spur of the moment decides to drop out of the normal work/home routines of his mundane life. He pretends to go missing but secretly hides in his attic to observe his family and neighbors. The story examines the details of day-to-day existence, identity, the choices we make and the roles we play in living a life. Jennifer Garner (Mother’s Day) plays Wakefield’s unhappy wife. Jason O’Mara (The Siege of Jadotville) and Beverly D’Angelo (Vacation) are also in the cast.
The film screened at Telluride and TIFF last fall. Julie Lynn, Bonnie Curtis, Wendy Federman, Elliot Webb and Carl Moellenberg are producing.
IFC will release the title in theaters on May 19th. A VOD release on May 26th is planned.
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