Direction: Kent Jones
Country: USA
Kent Jones’ Late Fame, based on Arthur Schnitzler’s posthumously published novella of the same name, was written by Samy Burch and stars Willem Dafoe, Greta Lee, and Edmund Donovan.
Living in downtown Manhattan, Ed Saxberger (Dafoe) long ago traded a literary career for a steady job at the post office. When Meyers (Donovan), a wealthy NYU graduate, approaches him and reveals his admiration for the poetry collection he published fifty years earlier, Ed feels both honored and fascinated. Meyers and his literary group organize a special event in his honor, hoping he might contribute some new material. Under pressure to write again, Ed also finds himself unable to conceal his attraction to Gloria (Lee), the group’s sole female member.
Simple yet broadly effective, Jones’ small-scale realism makes for a narrative well worth seeing. Its effect is sardonic and somewhat shocking, yet gentle and poignant enough to be genuinely touching. There are sharp observations about pretentious influencers addicted to their phones, considerable changes in the neighborhood, egos and vanities, and the ways in which the world may be fucked up but we still have to keep cool and carry on. Dafoe plays his character to perfection, inhabiting a dream come true that may not turn out to be quite what he had hoped for.
Late Fame speaks to an older crowd whose hearts are broken and dreams put on hold, while also making room for young, overambitious opportunists.
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