Marlowe, the film by Neil Jordan bringing the famous private eye back to the screen, will close the Official Selection of San Sebastian Festival's 70th edition. On September 24, the Kursaal Auditorium will host the world premiere of the film, to be attended by the director with Liam Neeson and Diane Kruger, who feature in the cast alongside Jessica Lange.
The feature film is based on the novel The Black Eyed Blonde, written by John Banville based on the immortal character created by the North American author Raymond Chandler almost 90 years ago. Set in Los Angeles in the late 30s, the story opens when private eye Philip Marlowe, played by the actor Liam Neeson, receives the commission to find the missing lover of a beautiful heiress.
The film is produced by Alan Moloney, Gary Levinsohn, Mark Fasano, Billy Hines, Philip Kim and Patrick Hibler. Shot in Barcelona and Dublin, the film is a co-production between Parallel Films, Hills Productions and Davis Films, with support from Fís Éireann / Screen Ireland. Sur Film provided production services in Barcelona.
The Irish moviemaker Neil Jordan (Sligo, 1950) began his career as a writer; however, in the early 80s he turned to the direction and production of films such as The Company of Wolves (1984); Mona Lisa (1986); The Crying Game (1992), with which he won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay; Interview with the Vampire (1994); Michael Collins (1996), which carried off the Golden Lion at the Venice Mostra; The Butcher Boy (1997), which bagged the Silver Shell for Best Director at the Berlinale, and The Good Thief (2002), opening film of San Sebastian Festival’s Official Selection. He has also written, directed and produced the series The Borgias (2011-2013), two-time winner of the Emmy Award. Jordan was president of the official jury at San Sebastian in 2019.
Tickets for the opening (Friday 16) and closing (Saturday 24) galas and for the Donostia Award galas for Juliette Binoche (Sunday 18) and David Cronenberg (Wednesday 21) go on sale from today.
In addition, tickets have been on sale since August 16 for the three films screening at the Velodrome (Sintiéndolo mucho, Rainbow and Black is Beltza II: Ainhoa).
In late 1930s noir-LA, Marlowe is tasked with finding a beautiful heiresses' missing former lover. He soon discovers that underneath the missing man's disappearance lies a web of corruption that puts him in the crosshairs of several of the city's richest, and most dangerous constituents.