Over the last little while, Shia LaBeouf has probably become better known for his strange performance art rather than his acting talents. After securing a string of box office hits early on in his career like I, Robot, Constantine, Disturbia, Eagle Eye, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Michael Bay’s Transformers trilogy, his future seemed incredibly bright, with a rise to the top of the A-list all but assured.
But LaBeouf soon turned his back on blockbusters after becoming disillusioned with both the process of making them and the resulting fame that came with starring in such big films. Recently, he’s been taking on smaller projects that let his performance do the talking and the 34 year-old has begun to build up a pretty diverse and eclectic list of credits lately, with critically-acclaimed turns in Fury, American Honey, Borg vs. McEnroe, The Peanut Butter Falcon and the semi-autobiographical Honey Boy.
Now, he looks to continue his recent hot streak with David Ayer’s The Tax Collector, with a new trailer for the pic landing online today. Seen above, it promises another gritty crime thriller – a genre Ayer knows all too well at this point – and teases a compelling lead performance from LaBeouf.
According to the official plot synopsis for the pic, it’ll follow David (Bobby Soto) and Creeper (LaBeouf), two ‘tax collectors’ for crime lord Wizard, who go around collecting his cut from the profits of various gangs’ illicit dealings. “But when Wizard’s old rival returns to Los Angeles from Mexico, the business is upended, and David finds himself desperate to protect what matters more to him than anything else: his family.”
So again, not exactly new territory for Ayer, but with some great crime thrillers like End of Watch, Harsh Times and Sabotage under his belt, he’s more than capable of churning out enjoyable efforts in the genre and again, LaBeouf looks to be turning in very solid work.
Look for The Tax Collector to release in theaters, on demand and on digital platforms later this summer, on August 7th.
