Ewan McGregor Set to Make Directorial Debut with American Pastoral

Two Phillip Roth books set for release this year. James Schamus’ excellent Indignation, which is a film everyone must see, and now, Ewan McGregor’s feature debut, American Pastoral.  They both dwell deeply in Roth land – beautiful women, neurotic/borderline hostile men but one is really about the repression that sets the stage for what American Pastoral is about, the 1960s/1970s.  I have not read either of these books, mind you, but I’m making that assumption based on what they’re about.

McGregor’s film will have its debut at the Toronto Film Fest, just announced. It stars McGregor, Jennifer Connelly and Dakota Fanning. You can read more about the story and plot here. 

So why Phillip Roth right now? It’s hard to say, but I would think that there is a kind of reckoning going on, as in what it means to be a white male on the brink of major changes in America. Yet more changes.

The pic looks like showcases for Fanning and Connelly, for starters. Check out the trailer.