It’s been a hot minute since we heard from filmmaker Mark Pellington, known for “The Mothman Prophecies” and “Arlington Road.” Pellington famously got his start in MTV-era music videos directing Pearl Jam’s “Jeremy” video to great acclaim, including winning four MTV awards in 1993, including Best Director and Video of the Year. Pellington used that success to move into dramatic live-action features, which segues nicely into his latest (re) release. Oscilloscope Laboratories has teamed with the director to present the never-before-seen 4K re-edit of his vibrant Sundance Film Festival hit and directorial debut, “Going All The Way: The Director’s Edit.”
Originally released in 1997, Pellington’s debut was based on Dan Wakefield’s best-selling novel about two young men facing an uncertain future in 1950s Indiana after their return from the Korean War. The film features breakthrough performances by then-unknown actors Jeremy Davies, Ben Affleck, Rachel Weisz, Rose McGowan, and Nick Offerman, who would all soon catapult to stardom (Jill Clayburgh and Lesley Ann Warren also co-starred).
Here’s the official synopsis:
Mark Pellington’s adaptation of Dan Wakefield’s seminal novel about a young man coming of age in the 1950s is a timeless story of freedom and repression, friendship and family, sex and love, and the psychological and spiritual struggle to be true to one’s self even if it means going against society’s expectations. Pellington’s debut as a feature filmmaker constructs an elegant and morally complex tale about two young high school alumni and Korean war veterans returning to their sheltered Indianapolis community, only to find they no longer fit in. As classmates, shy, artistic Sonny (distinctly portrayed by Jeremy Davies) and charming, popular Gunner (Ben Affleck in his first lead role) had nothing to do with one another, but now, in the stifling climate of Eisenhower America, where prejudice and paranoia rule the day, the two young men find in each other the strength to change their lives and futures. Each must choose between the suffocating, but familiar comforts offered to them by their mothers (Jill Clayburgh, Lesley Ann Warren) and their old flames and friends (Amy Locane, Nick Offerman) or the exciting but uncertain futures represented by a pair of enthralling new romantic prospects (Rachel Weisz, Rose McGowan). Theirs is an emotionally fraught journey—especially for Sonny, who struggles with self-doubt and thoughts of suicide—but one leavened by moments of humor, uplift, and self-discovery. Originally released in 1997, the newly re-edited and restored version completely upends the original cut, hews closer to the source novel, and cements the film as one of the most aesthetically fresh and thematically fascinating films of the 90s, as well as a testament to the ever-evolving possibilities of cinematic rediscovery.
Oscilloscope Laboratories will give the film an exclusive theatrical run starting in Los Angeles at Brain Dead Studios on November 7, with a national rollout to follow. Pellington will be in attendance with special guests for post-screening Q&A’s on Thursday, November 10. Watch the new trailer below.
