Exactly one week from now, Split director M. Night Shyamalan will introduce the moviegoing masses to Kevin, a man who displays 23 distinct personalities – watch out, because the 24th is about to be unleashed. James McAvoy is the actor tasked with that intricate, multi-faceted role, but he’s not the only Hollywood veteran ready to indulge in multiple characters.
Ahead of its world premiere at this month’s Sundance Film Festival, the first trailer for Manifesto has dropped online, in which we see Cate Blanchett playing not one, or two, but a staggering 13 different roles. Coming to us via Yahoo Movies, the peculiar drama is written and directed by Julian Rosefeldt, and here we see Blanchett vacillate between a straight-laced schoolteacher and an unruly punk.
It has all the hallmarks of a gripping, intense drama, and we’re excited to see how the 90-minute feature fares at Sundance in a few weeks’ time. First hatched in 2014 when Julian Rosefeldt twigged on to the idea of an actress – Blanchett, in this case – performing various manifestos, you can find an overview of the storyline and its many vignettes, below.
Tour-de-force: a term so overused that we need an undeniable acting performance to renew its meaning for cinema. Cate Blanchett has just given us one, going all-out in Manifesto. Already respected as one of the best actresses in film, Blanchett raises the bar even higher by playing 13 different roles in Manifesto, embodying some of the most influential and emotional artist manifestos in history.
The architect of this unique film idea is director Julian Rosefeldt, a veteran of intricate films and installations. In Manifesto, he uses the words from various twentieth century manifestos of artists, architects, and filmmakers for dialogue. With a gorgeous production and luscious cinematography that would make Baz Luhrmann proud, Rosefeldt puts Blanchett in the everyday world — as a housewife, a factory worker, or a TV anchor — declaring the words that have inspired whole art movements. Manifesto is entertaining while also asking us to question if these passionate statements still hold true and inspire us today.
Not to be confused with the brewing FBI drama of the same name, one which has Sam Worthington and Paul Bettany attached, Rosefeldt will unleash Cate Blanchett – all 13 versions of her – at Sundance Film Festival later this month. Manifesto is still on the hunt for US distribution, but we’ll keep you updated as it nears a release window.
