Despite so few films in his résumé before an untimely death, James Dean was immortalized as one of Hollywood’s most iconic actors, and this fall will bring another look at a more intimate aspect of his life. As scripted by Luke Davies and directed by Anton Corbijn, Life centers on the relationship between Dean (Dane DeHaan) and Life Magazine‘s Dennis Stock (Robert Pattinson), the latter of whom had been tasked with capturing the up-and-coming actor less than a year before his rise to stardom and tragic death.
We said in our review from Berlin, “Corbijn has successfully offset script weaknesses with striking aesthetics in the past, but this time his characteristic visual flair is surprisingly lacking. Conventionally shot — and with props and production design much too pristine to appear genuine — Life has the look of a period piece made for television (in fact, TV series such as Mad Men or Mildred Pierce look significantly more authentic).”
The first trailer has now been unveiled ahead of its U.K. release on September 25th, which can be seen below (along with the poster) for the film also starring Ben Kingsley, Joel Edgerton and Alessandra Mastronardi.
Update: Watch a different international trailer below.
Corbijn’s follow-up to A Most Wanted Man, LIFE captures the nuances and complexities of the relationship between photographer and subject in a way rarely seen or understood by someone outside the business. In a nod to Corbijn’s own past experience, the film is told from the perspective of the Life photographer Dennis Stock (played by Pattinson) who meets and profiles Dean (DeHaan) for the magazine, turning out some of Dean’s most iconic photographs.
Life is expected to be released this fall in the U.S. by Cinedigm.