Watch: Trailer For 'Upside Down' With Jim Sturgess & Kirsten Dunst Promises Gravity Defying Romance

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by Kevin Jagernauth
January 2, 2012 6:16 PM
12 Comments

For a while now, folks have been anticipating "Upside Down" based on its stars -- Jim Sturgess and Kirsten Dunst -- and its high-minded premise: a futuristic story following Adam (Jim Sturgess) a seemingly ordinary guy who is holding on to the memory of Eve (Dunst), a girl he met once upon a time from another world, an inverted affluent place with its own gravity. Well, after a long wait (production started nearly two years ago) the first trailer has arrived and it's...uneven to say the least.

The lengthy trailer unveils a "Romeo & Juliet" style story of two people who are kept apart for...some reason. It's not really explained why they can't be together, or why lives are put in danger by their love, but that the two worlds are, at times, literally an arm's length away seems a bit hokey. That said, the special effects are impressive and certainly, the trailer promises some big set pieces. But the overall story seems a bit cornball making it difficult, at least for now, to embrace the sci-fi concept. Dunst recently described the film as an "accessible 'Brazil' " though we don't quite get the vibe at all here.

The trailer is from France, so we presume it's coming out there soon (though we can't quite track down a release date). No distributor or stateside release yet. Watch below. [via HeyUGuys]

UPSIDE DOWN - BA VOST

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12 Comments

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Kotomi | January 5, 2012 9:20 AMReply

Gabe@ThePlaylist says ...

This looks HILARIOUS.

I love how so much sci-fi out there pretends to deal with class and social status (oh no, the Upper People are snotty!) but they only use the whitest people imaginable.

Jim Sturgess, if you were going to happen, you would have happened by now.
http://hollywood-elsewhere.com/2012/01/upside_down.php

I don't read Hollywood Elsewhere not often though,but I found this comment on their comment section(where I canât post technically). I'm sorry,it's O/T here and I hate to say this/hate to sound like fangirl, but I'm really disappointed with this comment.I donât care if others say like this, but Playlist is/was my most favorite blogãso I'm disheartened.Long story short,Jim Sturgess's career is just fine.People who are familiar with his works know he is one of best young actors working today.(to be continued)
Fred | January 5, 2012 10:07 AM

This movie looks terrible. Jim Sturgess is box-office poison.
Kotomi | January 5, 2012 9:36 AM

I often posted about Sturgess on comment section.I know my English is very poor,I'm sure people laugh at my posts,but I just wanted people at The Playlist to know this amazing talent whose finest performances(including Fifty Dead Men Walking and HEARTLESS) were often overlooked.And he is also awesome musician.It's not your loss to be familiar with works of very talenetd person before many peple will recognise him.I know this post is wrong and pointless post in here.I apologize.
Kotomi | January 4, 2012 12:51 PMReply

It looks amazing! I love the trailer.I think this film is definitely worthy to follow.Two leads are very talented.I was not sure if it had broad appeal or not,,but obviously film was tested very well.And the director is the one to watch.Twitch says like this,

"It was all the way back in 2003 when director Juan Solanas caught the eye of savvy film fans around the globe. It was his stunning, Jeunet influenced short The Man Without A Head that did it, a technical dazzler set in a post apocalyptic world in which a man who literally has no head prepares for a date.Fans of that short have been waiting for Solanas to display his visual skills on the big screen ever since.."
http://twitchfilm.com/news/2012/01/jim-sturgess-and-kirsten-dunst-romance-upside-down.php

I saw this short film on the internet before and it was wonderful.No wonder this short won Cannes award and CÃ©sar.I'm glad Jim Sturgess worked with this talented director.
(Btw,ï½orry,my below reply is to BM,not to IAN)
The Playlist is my homeboy | January 3, 2012 12:41 AMReply

It reminds me of In Time... bad bad memories right thurrr.
Ian | January 3, 2012 12:04 AMReply

I agree that the trailer is visually impressive but the story comes across as a bit hokey. The film might be better than it looks (story wise) as test screenings in Los Angeles scored high marks. Surprised that it's had difficulty finding distribution, though high concept science fiction historically underperforms at the box office. (The Matrix and Inception being rare exceptions and they both were heavy on action) The film lacks any movie stars that have much clout at the box office, which is another factor. I still expected Fox Searchlight or Focus to pick this up though. Would be sad if it ended up at a company like Magnolia/IFC.
Kotomi | January 4, 2012 11:07 AM

>And btw, the trailer music sucks. I thought Benoit Charest was in charge of the score?

It seems it's not original score.I read that the music used in this trailer is same music of "Adjustment Bureau" trailer.As for the original score,I heard Charest 's score is brilliant.

>I noticed the trailer doesn't have the Warner Bros logo anymore.
I just saw this trailer again on another link.It still has WB logo.
BM | January 3, 2012 10:37 AM

The simple storyline reminds me of Gaspar Noe's explanation behind wanting the cast in his film Enter the Void to speak English even if it wasn't their first language. He didn't want viewers distracted by subtitles and miss out on the visual/special effects, which were incredibly amazing. Solanas might want people to just focus solely on the VFX/FX too.

I noticed the trailer doesn't have the Warner Bros logo anymore. Yesterday it had it but now it's gone. What's up with that?

And btw, the trailer music sucks. I thought Benoit Charest was in charge of the score?
jingmei | January 2, 2012 11:20 PMReply

people have to feel dizzy in a super fake effect enviornment
Alex | January 2, 2012 7:35 PMReply

Mr. Nobody Redux?
Jason | January 2, 2012 7:08 PMReply

She filmed Upside Down before Melancholia. Upside Down was just in post-production forever because of the special effects.
The Playlist is my HOMEBOY | January 2, 2012 6:54 PMReply

So Kiki decides to take all of the goodwill from her Melancholia performance and go do... this?