ewan-mcgregor

The world of moviemaking has not done a particularly good job at bringing the immersive narratives of the author Philip Roth to bustling life. Early attempts, such as with Goodbye Columbus and Portnoy's Complaint, took out all the sting and historical complexity of Roth's books, and the most recent attempt, the Al Pacino-led The Humbling, was about as forgettable as modern comedic dramas get. And that's not even getting into out-and-out misfires like Elegy and The Human Stain, which offered plum roles to good actors but that's really about it.

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Image via Roadside Attractions

Those days would seemingly be over, however, as this year brings two adaptations that have been getting a lot of positive reactions from early screenings. The first would be Indignation, which bowed at Sundance to near-unanimous praise and was immediately scooped up for North American distribution, and was directed by longtime writer James Schamus. Then there's American Pastoral, one of Roth's most sprawling and beloved tomes to date, which is coming to the screen via first-time director Ewan McGregor, who will also star in the film as the 1950s father who finds himself losing grip of his way of life when his daughter's leftist leanings leads to a violent act of outrage. And now, via Vanity Fair, we have our first taste of what McGregor has put together in the first trailer for the film, which you can take a look at below.

The film, which also stars Jennifer Connelly, Dakota Fanning, Orange is the New Black's Uzo Aduba, Molly Parker, and The Man in the High Castle's Rupert Evans, is slated for a limited release on October 21st, with a plan to go wide from there. Early talks have this slated as being a heavy early favorite for Awards season, and the release date supports those feelings. I'm just looking for a decent Roth adaptation.

Here's the first trailer for American Pastoral:

Watch this on The Scene.

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Image via Lionsgate/Roadside
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Image via SPC