The first trailer of Dan Algrant’s “Greetings from Tim Buckley,” the completed Jeff Buckley biopic out of the two, shows two great musicians struggling in their own eras. While “Mystery White Boy” has had little movement lately, Algrant’s film has been described as more than a biopic and instead an examination of father and son through music. The film stars Penn Badgley (“Gossip Girl”) as Jeff Buckley, the singer-songwriter of the ’90s who died at age 30. He was the son of the great American musician Tim Buckley, played by newcomer Ben Rosenfield.
“Greetings from Tim Buckley,” which screened at Toronto last year, leads up to Jeff’s famous 1991 singing debut at his father’s tribute concert in St. Anne’s Church in Brooklyn. Jeff struggles with his bitterness toward his father who abandoned him and died at age 28 in 1977. The film charts both Jeff in 1991 as he prepares for the concert and falls in love with Allie (Imogen Poots), and Tim in the ’70s during his son’s birth.
The “Gossip Girl” actor doesn’t blow our minds too much as far as his performance in the trailer, but when singing, or wailing, with guitar in hand he wins us over (listen to him sing a full song here.) “Greetings” looks to be an important addition to both the indie and music biopic genres and a celebration of two musicians who died before their prime. The film will be released in theaters and on demand on April 16.
Watch the trailer below.
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