2017 is the year Netflix makes abigstatement in the original film realm. While the streaming service has had solid previous entries likeBeasts of No Nation, this year they’re acting like an out-and-out movie studio with content ranging from blockbusters (David Ayer’sBright) to foreign films (Bong Joon-ho’sOkja) to now socially conscious war satires. Today Netflix unveiled the first trailer forWar Machine, starringBrad Pitt, and it looks downright delightful.
Directed byAnimal KingdomandThe RoverhelmerDavid Michôd, the film is based on the bookThe Operators: The Wild & Terrifying Inside Story of America’s War in Afghanistanand stars Pitt as decorated U.S. general Stanley McChrystal whose ultra-confidence was cut down by a journalist’s expose. This first trailer is merely a teaser so we don’t get a ton of footage, but we certainly get the vibe of the film with Pitt doing something of an Aldo Raine-esque accent here in what’s sure to be a memorable role.
This is a true movie star vehicle for Netflix, and thus one of its most important films in the streaming service’s library. If it does well, and if critical reaction is positive, it proves Netflix is just as capable at making ballsy dramas as studios like A24 and Annapurna Pictures—the only question is whether the lack of a significant theatrical distribution will alter the film’s effect.
For now, I’m just excited to see this thing. Watched theWar Machinetrailer below. The film also starsTilda Swinton,Sir Ben Kingsley,Anthony Michael Hall,Topher Grace,Will Poulter,Lakeith Stanfield,Emory Cohen,John Magaro,RJ Cyler,Alan Ruck,Scoot McNairy, andMeg Tilly.War Machineis available on Netflix starting May 26th.
Here’s the official synopsis forWar Machine:
A pitch-black war story for our times, writer-director David Michôd (Animal Kingdom) recreates a U.S. General’s roller-coaster rise and fall as part reality, part savage parody – raising the specter of just where the line between them lies today. His is an absurdist look at a born leader’s ultra-confident march right into the dark heart of folly. At the story’s core is Brad Pitt’s sly take on one of the most polarizing war figures of a generation: successful, charismatic four-star General Stanley McChrystal, who leapt in like a rock star to command NATO forces in Afghanistan, only to be taken down by a journalist’s no-holds-barred exposé.
