It’s been a good few years for Margaret Qualley. Breaking out in “The Leftovers,” she’s since caught the eye of Spike Jonze (“Kenzo World“), Quentin Tarantino (“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood“), Netflix (“IO” opposite Anthony Mackie), FX (“Fosse/Verdon“), Tim Sutton (“Donnybrook“), Claire Denis (the not-yet-shot, “The Stars At Noon“) and has amassed a nice little career for herself that has come close to peaking yet. Next up is a starring role in IFC Films, “My Salinger Year,” which is a love letter to pursuing writing as a career. And if you’re a fan of the famous author J.D. Salinger, there are some fun insights to be gleaned there as well.
The film stars Qualley, Sigourney Weaver, Douglas Booth, Brian F. O’Byrne, and Yanic Truesdale. “My Salinger Year” is written and directed by Philippe Falardeau. Previously, the filmmaker directed features such as “Monsieur Lazhar,” “The Good Lie,” and “Chuck.” Here’s the official synopsis:
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New York in the 90s: After leaving graduate school to pursue her dream of becoming a writer, Joanna (Margaret Qualley) gets hired as an assistant to Margaret (Sigourney Weaver), the stoic and old-fashioned literary agent of J. D. Salinger. Fluctuating between poverty and glamour, she spends her days in a plush, wood-paneled office – where dictaphones and typewriters still reign and agents doze off after three-martini lunches – and her nights in a sink-less Brooklyn apartment with her socialist boyfriend. Joanna’s main task is processing Salinger’s voluminous fan mail, but as she reads the heart-wrenching letters from around the world, she becomes reluctant to send the agency’s impersonal standard letter and impulsively begins personalizing the responses. The results are both humorous and moving, as Joanna, while using the great writer’s voice, begins to discover her own.
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Produced by Luc Déry, Kim McCraw, Ruth Coady, and Susan Mullen, “My Salinger Year” starring Margaret Qualley, Sigourney Weaver, and Douglas Booth, open March 5 via IFC Films. Watch the first official U.S. trailer below.