Joaquin Phoenix, Marion Cotillard and Jeremy Renner are three actors who are hard to take your eyes off of. Despite this, a period drama starring the trio, titled The Immigrant, has flown under the radar since its debut at the Cannes Film Festival.
From director James Gray (We Own the Night), the film tells the story of a woman (played by Marion Cotillard) immigrating to New York City in the early 1920s. She falls in love with two cousins (Joaquin Phoenix and Jeremy Renner) who both promise to find a way to get her sister into America after she was rejected at Ellis Island. Of course, a love triangle complicates matters and the French starlet has to choose between the two men.
A new trailer for The Immigrant (which features a bit of NSFW content) is now online and I must say, the film looks splendid, with refined period touches and great performances from three actors who mesmerize every chance they get. The lush cinematography comes from the superb Darius Khondji, who has experience working on movies set in the 1920s – he was the director of photography for Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris.
It is also interesting to see that Joaquin Phoenix and Jeremy Renner are playing cousins in the film as Renner was the initial choice for Freddie Quell in The Master, a role that later brought Phoenix an Oscar nomination.
The Weinstein Company does not have a release date set for North America just yet, although the studio may be positioning it for a limited release in the spring. Reviews for the film from Cannes were good, although not glowing, and The Immigrant is still playing the festival circuit.
Check out the trailer below, which definitely shows off some Godfather: Part II vibes, and let us know what you think in the comments section.