The Playlist

Cannes Review: James Gray’s Careful, Poised 'The Immigrant' Builds Slowly To A Resonant Climax

By Jessica Kiang
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May 24, 2013 6:46 AM
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9 Comments

Festivals

A strangely chimeric movie, that only reveals its truest colors in its closing moments, James Gray’s “The Immigrant” which screened In Competition this morning in Cannes is a meticulous reframing of the director’s familiar themes and concerns that mostly lived up to our high expectations, while never bursting their bounds the way we might have dared to hope. It’s a beautifully shot film marked by deeply felt performances from its leads, that will play to those attuned to the loveliness of Gray’s minor-key redemption stories, but is unlikely to win new converts among the impatient or those whose expectation of a period drama is something more traditionally epic and grandiose.

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Sony Pick Up Cannes Hit 'The Past,' Sundance Selects Take The Dardennes' Marion Cotillard-Starring Next Project

By Cain Rodriguez
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May 20, 2013 4:30 PM
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1 Comment

News

With every major festival that arrives there’s more chances for hopeful filmmakers to ink deals that would put their films in front of paying audiences, so of course with the Cannes Film Festival in full swing there’s a whole smorgasbord of distribution news.

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Watch: First Clip From James Gray's Cannes Competitor 'The Immigrant' With Marion Cotillard & Jeremy Renner

By Oliver Lyttelton
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May 17, 2013 10:40 AM
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3 Comments

News

We were only just talking about Playlist favorite James Gray, and his new secret sci-fi project, earlier this morning, and there's clearly something in the water, because the first tantalizing, albeit brief, clip from the "We Own The Night" director's new film, "The Immigrant," has arrived.

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James Gray Working On An Untitled Sci-Fi Thriller

By Oliver Lyttelton
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May 17, 2013 8:29 AM
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1 Comment

News

One of the reasons we've been so excited for Cannes this year is that the festival sees the unveiling of not one, but two new films featuring the involvement of one of our favorite directors, James Gray. The "We Own The Night" helmer is back with his first directorial effort since 2008's "Two Lovers," in the shape of period piece "The Immigrant," staring Marion Cotillard, Joaquin Phoenix and Jeremy Renner, and also helped Guillaume Canet pen the script to crime tale "Blood Ties," with Clive Owen and Billy Crudup.

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New Images Of Joaquin Phoenix & Marion Cotillard In James Gray's 'The Immigrant'

By Kevin Jagernauth
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May 3, 2013 9:20 AM
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5 Comments

News

You already know our feelings on James Gray and his films, so you know the next couple weeks will last forever as we await his latest film "The Immigrant" (previously known as both "Lowlife" and "Nightingale"), so here are a few new images for now.

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Brad Pitt No Longer Attached To James Gray's Thriller 'The Gray Man'

By Kevin Jagernauth
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May 1, 2013 9:01 AM
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1 Comment

News

With James Gray pretty much finished with "The Immigrant," packing his bags and getting ready to head to France for its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, he's beginning to look at what might be next on his slate. When we spoke to the helmer last year, his brewing thriller "The Gray Man" was something he said could very well be his next picture. "It really depends on Brad Pitt's schedule and it depends on my schedule and how quickly I finish up this current movie and budget and all of those kind of boring factors. But it definitely may happen, and in fact it is more likely than not to happen," he said. And while the movie may move forward, it will need a new lead.

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The Surprises & Notable Absences Of The 2013 Cannes Line-Up

By The Playlist Staff
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April 18, 2013 11:28 AM
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10 Comments

Festivals

So the 2013 Cannes lineup has finally been unveiled and as usual, there were a fair few surprise inclusions, a fair few snubby exclusions/category decisions, and some mildly oh!-inducing title changes. The majority of our firm predictions made it in (the Coens, Soderbergh, Farhadi, Sorrentino, Gray, Refn, Denis, Coppola among others) but sometimes into surprising sections, while a couple of films we had down as possibilities or longer shots paid off. So now that we know the lineup from G ('Gatsby' -- opening film) to Z ("Zulu" -- closing film) -- and it's a fairly U.S.-friendly list for Jury President Steven Spielberg to preside over -- lets dive right in and talk about the more eyebrow-raising moments from this morning's announcement.

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Watch: Citroen Commercial Directed By James Gray Featuring Ewan McGregor & Vinessa Shaw

By Kevin Jagernauth
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March 11, 2013 5:12 PM
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1 Comment

News

After a brief teaser dropped last week with little explanation, showing James Gray directing something with Ewan McGregor and Vinessa Shaw, we were quickly informed that it wasn't short film or any other kind of movie project. Instead, it was ad for French carmaker Citroen, and now the the results that collaboration have been revealed.

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Watch: Teaser For Commercial Directed By James Gray Featuring Ewan McGregor & Vinessa Shaw

By Kevin Jagernauth
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March 8, 2013 8:55 AM
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0 Comments

News

Well, here's a little bit of a mystery to cap off your week. Just like that, a teaser has dropped online without any context at all, but promises some kind of project involving director James Gray and stars Ewan McGregor and Vinessa Shaw. Hmmm....

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Watch: James Gray-Directed Ad For Martell, Lensed By Darius Khondji

By Kevin Jagernauth
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January 13, 2013 9:58 AM
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2 Comments

News

It would appear that director James Gray has a found a new collaborator behind the camera. With his previous two efforts "Two Lovers" and "We Own The Night" lensed by Joaquín Baca-Asay, for the upcoming "Lowlife," Gray teamed with Darius Khondji ("Se7en," "Midnight In Paris," Academy Award nominee for "Evita"), and he rang him up again for this quick job.

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