The first trailer and poster have arrived for George Clooney's upcoming dark comedy/thriller, Suburbicon. Clooney co-wrote the film with his longtime, Oscar-winning writing/producing partner Grant Heslov, based on an original script that was concocted by Joel and Ethan Coen all the way back in 1986 (shortly after the Coens made their feature directorial debut with Blood Simple). While Clooney was set to star in Suburbicon at one point during its development, he wound up staying behind the camera on the project and recruiting Matt Damon to headline the film, instead.

Suburbicon takes place in the summer of 1959 in the eponymous town (officially described as being a "peaceful, idyllic suburban community"), where Damon's working husband and father, Gardner Lodge lives with his family. However, the Lodges' peaceful existence is shattered when one of Gardner's not-so-smart decisions (namely, getting involved with mobsters) comes back to haunt him in the worst way. Soon enough, however, the entirety of Suburbicon itself begins to descend into chaos, as a result of Gardner's attempts to get a handle on his situation.

Oscar-winner Julianne Moore and Oscar Isaac (who previously starred in the Coen Brothers films The Big Lebowski and Inside Llewyn Davis, respectively) round out the cast of Suburbicon as Margaret Lodge - the aunt to Gardner's son Nicky (Noah Jupe) - and Roger, who is yet another shady fellow who makes Gardner's "home problems" his business. You can watch Paramount Pictures' first official trailer for Suburbicon above, then check out the poster below.

Based on the trailer alone, Suburbicon should very much feel like a Coen Brothers movie along the lines of Fargo, with its blending of dark humor and Noir elements. The movie also (literally) looks quite good, thanks to the cinematography by Robert Elswit (There Will Be Blood, Nightcrawler). Together, these elements should only allow the movie to succeed all the more at presenting a stylishly skewed vision of bloody mayhem breaking out in idyllic 1950s American suburbia, as a result.

If there's reason for concern here, it's that Suburbicon also feels like familiar dark comedy/satire territory for the Coen Brothers and might come off as Clooney's attempt to ape the filmmakers' style, with diminished returns. Paramount, for its part, clearly has awards season hopes for the movie and will premiere it at the Toronto Film Festival in September, more than a month ahead of Suburbicon's domestic theatrical release. As such, it shouldn't be long before we have a better idea of whether or not Clooney's new movie actually lives up to the promise of its first trailer.

NEXT: Matt Damon's Downsizing CinemaCon Footage Description

Source: Paramount Pictures

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