The first trailer for Wakefield, a darkly comic drama from director Robin Swicord which stars Breaking Bad’s Bryan Cranston in yet another intriguing role on ever expanding actor portfolio, has made an appearance.
Read our TIFF 2016 Wakefield Review
Wakefield is based on the short story of the same name by E. L. Doctorow telling the story of Cranston’s fragile Howard, a family man with a loving wife (played by Jennifer Garner), two daughters, a prestigious job as a Manhattan lawyer, and a comfortable home in the suburbs. But inwardly he’s suffocating, and eventually, he snaps and goes into hiding in his garage attic leaving his family to wonder what happened to him. He observes them from his window – an outsider spying in on his own life – as the days of exile stretch into months.
The trailer, which seess Howard observing life from his attic, is gently narrated by Cranston, providing his own subtle narrative of conversations he witnesses as his family go about their lives. Questioning himself on far is he willing to let his self-exile go while everyone he loves thinks he has simply disappeared.
Related: Wakefield TIFF Premiere Interviews
As the days roll on his family move on and his appearance becomes that of some kind of vagrant, stating “I never left my family, I left myself, Unshackled, I’ll become the Howard Wakefield I was meant to be”
Directed by Academy Award nominee Robin Swicord (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), who is best known for her literary adaptations, Wakefield also see’s Jennifer Garner (Dallas Buyers Club, Mother’s Day) and Beverly D’Angelo (National Lampoon series, American History X) joining the Dalto Trumbo and Sneaky Pete star Cranston on the cast.
Wakefield is released May 19 after its world premiere at Telluride.
