Elle Fanning and Javier Bardem star in the trailer for the upcoming drama, The Roads Not Taken. The new project from acclaimed writer-director Sally Potter, the film stars Fanning as Molly, a young woman whose father Leo (Bardem) is deteriorating mentally. Over the course of their day-long trip through New York City together, Leo finds himself imagining the alternate lives he might've lived. Meanwhile, Molly is left to deal with the challenges of Leo's state, even as she wrestles with conflicting thoughts about her own future.
For Fanning, The Roads Not Taken marks her latest collaboration with Potter after Ginger & Rosa, a well-received coming of age drama about lifelong friends (set in '60s London) that premiered in 2012. It's only the ninth feature length non-documentary Potter's directed over the course of her decorated career, which has already spanned five decades. And if that's not enough to pique your interest, the film's marketing might just do the trick instead.
Bleecker Street released the official trailer for The Roads Not Taken online today, ahead of its release in theaters next month. You can check it out in the space below.
The Roads Not Taken will be among the films competing at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival when it begins later this month on Wednesday, February 20, and continues on through to March 1. Judging by the trailer, the father-daughter drama has the makings of an excellent acting showcase for Bardem and Fanning, moving back and forth between Leo's imagined lives and Molly's increasing desperation in the real-world to powerful effect. Salma Hayek and Laura Linney further round out the cast in supporting roles, playing two important women (one real, one possibly not) in Leo's life. Really, the entire The Roads Not Taken cast is quick to leave an impression in just under two minutes of footage.
With the 2020 Oscars coming up this weekend, The Roads Not Taken is positioned to act as counter-programming to the bigger tentpoles opening next month, as opposed to an awards contender. There's virtually no overlap between the film and early March releases like Pixar's Onward (which is also showing at the Berlin festival, as a special selection) and Vin Diesel's Bloodshot, so Potter's movie shouldn't have too much trouble connecting to its core arthouse audience when it arrives. As for anyone who's unfamiliar with her, now's as good a time as any to check out the filmmaker's previous work like Ginger & Rosa, The Party, and Orlando, in preparation for her newest offering.
The Roads Not Taken opens in U.S. theaters next month on Friday, March 13.
Source: Bleecker Street