Look, we know not all Photoshop artists were created equally, and perhaps poster art is not the domain for real art these days (folks like Neil Kellerhouse and Drafthouse artisans aside), but this recent poster for James Gray’s upcoming indie drama “The Immigrant” is… let’s say politely, something else. Sure, even the original French poster had the three stars Marion Cotillard, Joaquin Phoenix and Jeremy Renner photoshopped together like they were members of the European ‘Avengers,’ but this North American poster for the film butchers Cotillard’s beautiful face.
Worse, Harvey Weinstein, or someone at TWC decided her headband was too French so it had to be photoshopped out, making her look even weirder (see the side by side comparison here). Hey, we get it. Photoshop poster art is often not very good, see Professor X blowing flame farts out of his wheelchair in the last X-Men poster for random example, but this one is egregiously poor. But maybe we should just count our blessings. After all, “The Immigrant,” was once going to be relegated to the Radius-TWC world of VOD, but the company decided to change gears earlier this spring and release the movie as a proper Weinstein Company release (though its release will still be limited). And this is great because Darius Khondji’s beautiful chiaroscuro-draped cinematography needs to be seen on the big screen.
Anyhow, to wash away the taste of painful looking posters, here’s the U.S. trailer for the film and a batch of new pics. Due in theaters on May 12th, if you live in New York you’ll be able to see the movie early at BAMcinematek on May 5th. Director James Gray will be in house and the Q&A will be moderated by The Playlist’s Rodrigo Perez.
