Here is the first international theatrical trailer for ‘Franklyn’ a futuristic thriller that will be released in theaters in the U.K. on February 20, 2009. See photos and the movie trailer video here.
Gerald McMorrow makes his feature film debut as writer and director of the sci-fi/film noir which stars Ryan Phillippe, Eva Green, Sam Riley and Bernard Hill.
The narrative interweave four stories, three of which are set in present day London and a fourth in in a parallel universe in the visually dazzling futuristic Meanwhile City which bears resemblance to other notable cinematic dystopian urban landscapes such as the Los Angeles of Ridley Scott’s Bladerunner, Terry Gilliam’s ‘Brazil,’ and Fritz Lang’s silent film classic, ‘Metropolis.’ Meanwhile City is characterized by its religiosity. The government, called The Ministry, uses religion to control its citizens, not caring what they believe in so long as they are devout and worshiping someone or something, according to writer-director McMorrow.
“People have faiths and religions based on strange things like The Seventh Day Manicurists and Washing Machine Street Preachers. Their doctrines and dogmas are all based on things like washing machine instructions.”
Preest (Ryan Phillippe) is a masked vigilante/investigator named who is determined to find his nemesis in Meanwhile City, known only as “the Individual,” someone who killed a kidnapped girl years ago. Preest is hated and harassed by the Ministry because he is an atheist but allowed to pursue his prey.
Esser (Bernhard Hill) is a Cambridge pastor searching for his missing Gulf War veteran son on the dangerous London streets among the homeless. Milo (Sam Riley) is a heartbroken man, abandoned by his fiance, trying to regain “the purity of first love.” Emilia (Eva Green) is an art student whose conflicts with her mother make her increasingly depressed and she resorts to creating disturbing artwork by filming her suicide attempts.
The lives of these characters intertwine with Preest’s and “as these worlds collide, a single bullet determines the destiny of all of them.”
Watching the trailer, it is amazing that this movie was made on a budget of just $10.4 million (£6 million). Director Gerald McMorrow, who has a previous background as a director of music videos and commercials, has been well served by the imaginative production and costume design by Laurence Dorman and Leonie Hartard.
The movie premiered at the 52nd London Film Festival on October 16, 2008 to critical acclaim and, as mentioned, will be released in U.K. theaters February 20, 2009. The movie also has a Canadian distributor, although a release date has not been set.
Presently, there is not a U.S. distributor for the movie, but as interest grows (and there has been quite a bit of Internet buzz about this movie) it may indeed find its way to the States and elsewhere around the world.
More photos and the Franklyn movie trailer video are below.
Photos: wenn.com