What do you get when you pair the director of a buzzed-about Sundance hit with a Black List script? You get cautiously optimistic about the prospect of an indie hit, that’s what. Australian director Kieran Darcy-Smith brought his debut feature “Wish You Were Here” to Sundance earlier this year, and the Joel Edgerton and Teresa Palmer-starring drama was met by pretty decent reviews. Now he’s lining up his next feature.
Darcy-Smith is attached to direct Matt Cook’s 2009 Black List script “By Way of Helena,” which follows a Texas Ranger and his Mexican bride who are sent to a mysterious town where Mexican bodies are washing up on the riverbank. Cook hasn’t had a feature on the big screen to date, but his script “Triple Nine” is being developed by John Hillcoat, which certainly adds to the promise of this flick.
We weren’t completely convinced by Darcy-Smith’s debut back at Sundance, calling it “simultaneously mysterious and mostly uninteresting” and awarding it a C-grade. There were more positive reactions elsewhere, but the film has yet to reach audiences despite being acquired for North American distribution by Entertainment One. Hopefully the film will surface in theaters soon so we can all make our minds up about it, and decide how excited to be about "By Way of Helena." [Variety]
Wish You Were Here nearly put me in a coma.