Before donning the cape and swearing by the Creed for Ubisoft’s video game adaptation, star Michael Fassbender has a jam-packed year in front of him with the likes of The Light Between Oceans and Danny Boyle’s Steve Jobs biopic. But before all of that, the actor will channel his inner Clint Eastwood for John Maclean’s upcoming western drama, Slow West.
Having premiered at Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, Maclean’s project has already garnered attention from critics, picking up the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize in the dramatic category in the process. Now, as Slow West gears up for its full release, the studio has unveiled the first trailer for the film that showcases Fassbender in action as a mysterious gunman who takes Kodi Smit-McPhee’s bumbling teenager under his wing.
Slow West also marks John Maclean’s — yippee ki yay! — directorial debut, after working alongside the Days of Future Past star on a number of smaller projects, with Fish Tank‘s Robbie Ryan on board as the movie’s cinematographer. It’s expected to make its bow across iTunes and select theaters on May 15.
Set at the end of the 19th Century, SLOW WEST is an American western filtered through the eyes of European filmmaking. The story centres on 17 year old Jay Cavendish (Kodi Smit-McPhee) who has travelled from Scotland to Colorado to be reunited with the woman with whom he is infatuated. He is quickly confronted by the dangers of the frontier and so teams up with a mysterious traveller named Silas (Michael Fassbender), who agrees to protect him for cash. Jay’s journey is fraught with danger, double-crossing and violence as he comes to realise that America is not easy on the innocent.
