Overview
- The film, which opens August 7, 2026, is being released by Magnolia after premiering at the Venice Film Festival last year.
- Critics single out Willem Dafoe for a quietly powerful lead turn described as some of his best, nuanced work in years.
- Greta Lee receives a memorable show-stopping monologue and Edmund Donovan is widely noted for stealing scenes as the leader of the young artistic circle.
- Reviewers praise the film’s tone and performances but say Samy Burch’s screenplay becomes uneven late in the running time and that the final act leans on familiar indie-drama tropes.
- Directed by former critic and festival programmer Kent Jones and adapted from an Arthur Schnitzler novella by Samy Burch, the 96-minute movie is likely to appeal to audiences drawn to character-driven stories about late-life creativity and literary communities.