If your film is named Trash, it better be pretty great, or it will instantly be fodder for reviewers upon release. The good news is that Stephen Daldry’s latest effort, starring Rooney Mara, Martin Sheen and three newcomers who could have a bright future in Hollywood, looks terrific, a mix of gritty slum story and inspirational drama. In other words, this could be the new Slumdog Millionaire and it already comes from a director who has danced with Oscar nominations before.
Trash could also easily be up for foreign language film at this year’s Academy Awards, since 80 percent of it is in Portuguese (the rest is in English). The film is based off a best-selling novel by Andy Mulligan, which follows three kids living in a Rio slum who find a wallet filled with money and valuables connecting to officials in power. When the police show up to offer a handsome reward in exchange for the wallet, the boys realize the importance of their find and embark on a perilous adventure to right the wrongs they now understand.
With an energetic score, intoxicating images of prestige and poverty and what appears to be a fantastic young ensemble, this looks like the Slumdog Millionaire of 2014. Even more encouraging is that Richard Curtis penned the adaptation, and I think it’s safe to say that the man behind Love Actually and War Horse‘s screenplay knows how to please crowds.
There is no current North American release date just yet, but Trash comes out in Brazil in October and in the U.K. in January.
