Amazon Studios has released the first trailer for the highly anticipated Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot. Written and directed by Gus Van Sant (Good Will Hunting), the film is based on the memoir of the same name by cartoonist, artist, and musician John Callahan. Joaquin Phoenix plays Callahan, who becomes a quadriplegic in a car accident at the age of 21 after a day of drinking. Thereafter, he finds friendship in a local AA group spurred by his honesty and wicked sense of humor, which he also channels into his talent for drawing irreverent and shocking cartoons.

There are a lot of ways you could go with Callahan's story, and it appears that Van Sant has zeroed in on the "depressed alcoholic looking for meaning" angle, showing how Callahan's AA meetings helped lead him down the road to finding his passion in drawing. This looks to be a great star vehicle for Phoenix to do this thing, but we also get another transformative performance from Jonah Hill a la Moneyball or War Dogs, and the actor looks like he's having fun in a very different kind of role.

Van Sant hasn't made a great movie in about a decade (Milk), so I'm very curious about this one. He has enough terrific films under his belt that his talent is undeniable, you just don't ever quite know what you're going to get from a Gus Van Sant film—it could be Good Will Hunting or it could be Promised Land. Here's hoping this is more in line with the former.

Check out the Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot trailer below. The film also stars Jonah Hill, Rooney Mara, and Jack Black and will have its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 19th and opens in theaters on May 11th.

Here's the official synopsis for Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot:

After Portland slacker John Callahan (Joaquin Phoenix) nearly loses his life in a car accident, the last thing he intends to do is give up drinking. But when he reluctantly enters treatment – with encouragement from his girlfriend (Rooney Mara) and a charismatic sponsor (Jonah Hill) – Callahan discovers a gift for drawing edgy, irreverent newspaper cartoons that develop a national following and grant him a new lease on life. Based on a true story, this poignant, insightful and often funny drama about the healing power of art is adapted from Callahan’s autobiography and directed by two-time Oscar® nominee Gus Van Sant. Jack Black, Carrie Brownstein, Beth Ditto and Kim Gordon also star.