He was nominated for an Oscar just last year for ‘The Florida Project’ (his third Oscar nomination overall) and it looks like Willem Dafoe is going for another in his new film ‘At Eternity’s Gate.’ The movie sees him play Vincent Van Gosh, the Dutch Post-Impressionist painter whose renowned works include ‘Sunflowers’, ‘The Starry Night’ and ‘The Potato Eaters.’
Julian Schnabel (‘The Diving Bell and the Butterfly’) directs and Dafoe’s co-stars include Rupert Friend (‘Homeland’) as Vincent’s younger brother, Theo Van Gogh, Oscar Isaac as fellow famous artist Paul Gauguin, and Mads Mikkelsen as a priest who questions why van Gogh sees himself as a painter.
According to the plot synopsis, the film “is a journey inside the world and mind of a person who, despite skepticism, ridicule and illness, created some of the world’s most beloved and stunning works of art.
“This is not a forensic biography, but rather scenes based on Vincent van Gogh’s letters, common agreement about events in his life that present as facts, hearsay, and moments that are just plain invented.”
The movie premiered at Venice to critical acclaim and will be closing the New York Film Festival. It opens in select US theatres on November 16th but there’s no word on a release in Ireland yet.
Other new trailers that have been inspiring Oscar buzz include those for 'First Man' and 'The Front Runner.'
