MovieChat Forums > Una (2017) Discussion > premise is very daring and courageous..

premise is very daring and courageous..


40 year old having an affair with some 12 year old girl. Pretty gutsy for nowadays Hollywood don't you think?

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Tall. Healthy. German.

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It's actually based on a play first performed in 2005. The writer of both playscript and screenplay are the same which is a big plus as the play is absolutely stunning (when done correctly).

One thing I'm wishing so far is that there isn't a male lead with a bit more star power. It's a complex, interesting and well executed (based on the play) character study which would not only pose a challenge for them but potentially be award worthy, especially against an established and talented actress such as Rooney Mara who has had her own award success with The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.

Would love to see someone like Gary Oldman, Viggo Mortenson or, dare I say, even Daniel Day-Lewis if he would go back to playing real characters as opposed to the larger than life roles that he seems to go for these days. But anyway, yes, bigger star for the Male lead.

Either way, very excited for this. Hoping that it stays true to the source material.

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Hm that's interesting..
So you call Rooney Mara established and talented (and yes she is) but are not satisfied with Ben Mendelsohn in the lead?

Watch his performances in "Slow West" or even better "Starred Up", you may change your mind.

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Tall. Healthy. German.

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Oh, I'm not denying Ben Mendohlsohn's talent I'm a big Starred Up fan. My want for a more famous lead is purely due to my love of the play, would love for it to get as much coverage and to be seen by as many people as possible.

Also, I don't know if he is suited to the role fully (in my head) but I would love to be proven wrong!

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I'm hoping it can cross over to a film. I saw this as a play when I lived in NYC in 2007, and was just blown away. I still think about it, and check IMDB every few months to see if it's being made into a film. Alison Pill played the young woman, and was just mesmerizing. I was totally drawn in. I would love to have an adult discussion with others to find out if they had the same take of the story line.

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Mendelsohn already has a reputation for playing crooks and messed up people but this might be too much for people to ever think of him as anything else. I doubt if it will even play in the States. I hope he's doing the right thing for his career.

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There is no reason to think it won't play in the States; it had a very successful Off-Broadway run a few years ago when Jeff Daniels played the role.

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Well, there's no reason to think that an Off-Broadway run will lead to a movie release either. That's a different kettle of fish. If it plays in the states at all I would expect a VERY limited release but we will see. People have become numb from exposure to a lot of violent and distasteful subjects but a 40 plus year-old man having sex with a 12-year-old girl is still awfully offensive to most people.

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It's an indie movie, so best case scenario is IFC picks it up after a Sundance screening. I don't know exactly what you think they are expecting. I imagine they knew it would be a tough sell, but it did manage to bag one of the best actresses in Hollywood today. Not to mention, it's pretty well established in the theatre world; Cate Blanchett and her husband had it among their slate at the Sydney Theatre Company at one stage.

It's an ordinary high school day. Except that it's not.

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I don't know exactly what you think they are expecting.

I think they're expecting to make a profit or they wouldn't do it and I'm wondering if that will actually happen. But that's not what I was talking about. I'm only interested in whether this will work out for Mendelsohn as I explained upthread. I would like to see him get some good roles playing less skeevy characters than he's been playing the last few years.

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I guess you're not familiar with Film4. They are known to invest in and produce risque and interesting films because they have the financial resources to do so. Just look at their IMDb page; do you really think they thought they would make a profit from the film's they invest in? It's obvious there's a great deal of passion involved.

It's an ordinary high school day. Except that it's not.

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people here insist too much on this guy . I am of the humble opinion that the woman played superbly in this film. the guy wasn't supposed to play much of anything. he was pardon me saying, the dick which stirred the pot and around whom all revolves.

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