Despite boasting a strong ensemble cast including Robert Duvall, John Hurt, Frances O'Connor, Ray Stevenson, Kevin Bacon (with an amazing hairpiece) and Robert Patrick, with writer/director Billy Bob Thornton also featuring, and slotting a premiere at the Berlin Film Festival earlier this year, it seems distributors stateside haven't been quick to bite on the drama "Jayne Mansfield's Car." But over in Australia, the movie will be landing on DVD and Blu-ray in early 2013 and the first trailer to get the word out has arrived.
Set in 1969, the story centers on Jim (Duvall), who is thrown into a feud after his ex-wife — who left him to marry a Brit and move to England — passes away, and her body is brought back to Alabama for the funeral. Needless to say, quite a few issues are uncovered and need to be resolved. Certainly the film looks gorgeous, and the cast looks uniformly strong with a drama of the sort we don't really get much of often (which may be why it's having troulbe finding a home). But according to Playlister Jessica Kiang, the film lacks the magic of Thornton's debut effort. "…Thornton's first fiction feature as director in over a decade, 'Jayne Mansfield's Car' feels curiously old-fashioned and has none of the focus and discipline that made his debut 'Sling Blade' such an immediate, Oscar-winning success," she wrote in her review from Berlin. "But as a nearly stageplay-like showcase for some extremely watchable actors, it is diverting enough to almost compensate for its awkwardness in other areas."
No word on when we'll get to see the movie for ourselves over here, but for now, you can check out lengthy trailer below. [Le Blog Du Cinema]