2019 / drama / 1h 41min / directed by Philip Harder / written by Philip Harder; based on a novel by Glasgow Phillips / country: USA / language: English
“The film is the first narrative feature by Philip Harder, a longtime creative force known for high-profile music video work for artists including Prince, Foo Fighters, and Hilary Duff, and projects for commercial clients including Apple, Disney, and Target.
Adapted from the novel Tuscaloosa by W. Glasgow Phillips, the movie tells the coming-of-age story of Billy Mitchell (Devon Bostick), a member of Tuscaloosa, Alabama’s white middle class. By the summer of 1972, young black activists in his city have found purpose and a cause worth fighting for, but Billy is still coasting—until he falls in love with fragile, determined Virginia (Natalia Dyer), a patient at the mental hospital run by his father. Shaken out of his slacker indifference, he finds his loyalties pulling him in different directions. And when Billy and his friends try to move forward on their own path, they discover just how far the network of power and oppression in their town will go to stop them.”
–BusinessWire.com
Vietnam war protests and racial tension is sizzling in the late summer heat of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Billy Mitchell (Devon Bostick, The 100, Diary of a Wimpy Kid), a recent college graduate, spends the summer working on the lush grounds of an old world mental institution run by his psychiatrist father (Tate Donovan, Argo). Billy falls in love with Virginia (Natalia Dyer, Velvet Buzzsaw, Stranger Things), a patient who is possibly crazy, or perhaps the only sane person Billy has in his world. Billy’s best friend Nigel (Marchánt Davis) becomes involved with a radical civil rights activist (YG) against Tuscaloosa’s white power elite, which includes Billy’s father. Billy is torn between Nigel, his father and his cronies, and Virginia, who is planning her escape with or without Billy. (source)
LUMIERE CINEMA 