Two stars whose films premiered at Toronto — Marisa Tomei with Ruba Nadda’s “Inescapable” and Sam Rockwell with Martin McDonagh’s “Seven Psychopaths” — have signed on for “Why Now,” a indie comedy that will shoot over three weeks in upstate New York this November. Michael Godere and Ivan Martin wrote and will direct and star alongside Tomei, Rockwell and Brian Geraghty. Parts & Labor is producing. Here’s more from ScreenDaily.
In Collider‘s early review of “Inescapable” they mention the film’s inevitable comparisons to “Taken” but say that “it could have been better than ‘Taken.'” They continue;
“Tomei may be grossly miscast, but she’s a minor misstep in a film that constantly stumbles over its potential. Cinema doesn’t have too many Arab heroes. A country like Syria is always a place for danger, but never a vital part of the protagonist’s origin. It’s rare that a story about a father trying to rescue his daughter doesn’t come off as paternalistic. But for everything that makes the movie special, Inescapable constantly fizzles out, and will limp off as a forgotten thriller that never thrilled and mystery that never intrigued.”
The Globe and Mail states, “With the grown-up love story ‘Cairo Time’ (2009), Nadda proved herself a writer and director who could capture nuance and languor on screen. Unfortunately, she doesn’t fare as well with the action and tight plotting required for this political thriller.”
Meanwhile, ThePlaylist declares that “Seven Psychopaths” both exhausts and delights and gives it a C. They add, “It’s Rockwell who audiences will be talking about most,..he emerges as the lead character and has a blast playing the unhinged and unfiltered Billy whose increasingly self destructive tendencies come to a boil as the movie winds torward its conclusion.” The Guardian was slightly more impressed with McDonagh’s sophomore effort;
“When it’s good, it jigs over many of the same buttons: witty and inventive, cracklingly obscene and sheep-dunk bracing. And it suffers some of the same short-burn as a Tarantino flick, vividly impressive at the time, but all fireworks and no Aga, a film whose parts might be more than its sum. There are scenes of complete brilliance, Walken is better than he’s been in years, cute plot loops and grace notes. Yet it doesn’t quite cohere, for all its grounding in a world in which, for all its frayed ends and fringe insanity, McDonagh does now actually inhabit.”
Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.
