The Goldfinch - In Cinemas Now
Q&A with director John Crowley.
New to cinemas, The Goldfinch is the big-screen adaptation of Donna Tartt's acclaimed novel. Here's what you can expect from the film, along with a Q&A with director and BAFTA award winner, John Crowley.
Theodore "Theo" Decker was 13 years old when his mother was killed in a bombing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The tragedy changes the course of his life, sending him on a stirring odyssey of grief and guilt, reinvention and redemption, and even love. Through it all, he holds on to one tangible piece of hope from that terrible day…a painting of a tiny bird chained to its perch. The Goldfinch.
The Goldfinch won the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction. Directed by BAFTA Award winner John Crowley (“Brooklyn”), the film features a multigenerational cast led by Ansel Elgort (“Baby Driver”) as Theo Decker and Academy Award winner Nicole Kidman (“The Hours,” “Big Little Lies”) as Mrs. Barbour.
“The Goldfinch” is produced by Nina Jacobson (“The Hunger Games” films, “American Crime Story”) and Brad Simpson (“World War Z,” “American Crime Story”). Mari Jo Winkler-Ioffreda, Kevin McCormick, Sue Kroll and Courtenay Valenti are the executive producers. The screenplay is by Oscar nominee Peter Straughan (“Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”), based on the novel by Donna Tartt, which spent 30 weeks on The New York Times Best Sellers list.
The film also stars Oakes Fegley (“Pete’s Dragon”) as Young Theo, Aneurin Barnard (“Dunkirk”) as Boris, Finn Wolfhard (“Stranger Things,” “It”) as Young Boris, with Sarah Paulson (“The Post,” “American Crime Story”) as Xandra, Luke Wilson (“The Royal Tenenbaums”) as Larry, and Jeffrey Wright (“The Hunger Games” films) as Hobie.
Rounding out the main ensemble cast are Ashleigh Cummings (“Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries”) as Pippa, Willa Fitzgerald (“Little Women”) as Kitsey Barbour, Aimee Laurence (“Chicago P.D.”) as Young Pippa, Denis O’Hare (“American Horror Story”) as Lucius Reeve, Boyd Gaines (2014’s “Driving Miss Daisy”) as Mr. Barbour, Peter Jacobson (“Colony”) as Mr. Silver, Luke Kleintank (“The Man in the High Castle”) as Platt Barbour, Robert Joy (“CSI: NY”) as Welty, and newcomer Ryan Foust as Andy.
The behind-the-scenes creative team included Oscar-winning director of photography Roger Deakins (“Blade Runner 2049”), Oscar-nominated production designer K.K. Barrett (“Her”), costume designer Kasia Walicka Maimone (“Bridge of Spies”), and editor Kelley Dixon (“Breaking Bad”). The music is by Trevor Gureckis (“Bloodline”).
Director John Crowley made an appearance in London this week for a special screening at Curzon cinema in Mayfair. John tells us about his experience directing the fim.
"Making it was, in the truest sense, a labour of love"
He explains, "When I first read the book, I read it for pleasure. It struck me as a very original and rather profound study in grief"
On casting both younger and older versions of the characters, John says rather than finding a physical likeness, “It was important to cast an actor who had the right truth for that character at the time”.
Actors weren’t allowed to review each other’s tapes while filming. John Crowley explained, “There was a danger they would end up impersonating each other.”
Watch the trailer here -
To book your tickets for the big screen, click here