‘Alpha’: Julia Ducournau’s Latest Film Gets Upsetting Trailer
Julia Ducournau previously established herself as a heavyweight in the genre space with her celebrated body horror films Raw and Titane. Both were met with near-universal acclaim, with Titane taking home the prestigious Palme d’Or award at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival. Ducournau is only the second woman to win the award and the first to win it as a solo director. Her latest effort, Alpha, is gearing up for a November 14th release in the UK.
In anticipation of the film’s upcoming release, distributor Curzon Film has debuted a trailer. The newly released preview gives a moody, foreboding atmosphere. You can see what I mean below.
Check out the trailer for Alpha:
Although the trailer seemingly shows a certain promise, the early reviews for Alpha have been lukewarm at best. The picture holds an approval rating of just 51% on Rotten Tomatoes. Our Josh Korngut is among those for whom the film didn’t land. He critiqued the picture out of Cannes earlier this year and rated it 2/5 stars. Although Korngut took care to praise the film’s aesthetic, he ultimately called the picture out for its clunky use of the AIDS epidemic as a metaphor. The summation of his write-up reads: “Despite its striking visuals, Alpha misfires with a shallow and insensitive narrative that fails to meaningfully engage with its subject matter.”
While the film’s UK release is locked and loaded, a stateside bow hasn’t been announced yet. Neon is handling North American distribution for the project and will likely have more details to share regarding a US release soon.
What is Alpha about?
Alpha, 13, is a troubled teenager who lives alone with her mother. Their world comes crashing down the day she comes home from school with a tattoo on her arm.
Ducournau wrote the screenplay for Alpha, in addition to directing the film. The narrative she scripts unfolds with shifting timelines that blend the events of the past and present, often without a clear distinction of which timeline a particular scene is set during.
Tahar Rahim (Madame Web), Golshifteh Farahani (Body of Lies), Emma Mackey, and newcomer Mélissa Boros star.
That is all that we’ve got for you at present. Be sure to stay tuned to the site for more new developments as they break. In the meantime, make sure to follow us on X (formerly Twitter) so you never miss out on an update.
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