Taking on a film adaptation of a celebrated novel is no easy task, certainly not when the novel is question is Philip Roth’s challenging and beloved effort American Pastoral. So, give Ewan McGregor points for ambition as the actor is makes his directorial debut on Pastoral, film in which he also stars in along with Oscar winner Jennifer Connelly (A Beautiful Mind), Dakota Fanning (Night Moves), Rupert Friend (Homeland) and Emmy winner Uzo Aduba (Orange is the New Black).
The first trailer, courtesy of Vanity Fair, has dropped and while nearly silent (save for the cover of Tears for Fears’s haunting “Mad World”) appears polished and well thought-out piece of work. The film, set in post-WWII America, centers around a husband and father (McGregor) as he watches his seemingly idyllic family turn over after his daughter (Fanning) takes up with hard-left political affiliations. Previously, titles such as The Human Stain (starring Anthony Hopkins and Nicole Kidman) and Elegy (starring Ben Kingsley and Penelope Cruz) were adapted to the screen from Roth novels; the 2016 Sundance hit Indignation also comes from a Roth novel.
Lionsgate is distributing the long gestating American Pastoral and is opening the title on the very awards-friendly release date of October 28th. Check out the trailer below.
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