Stillwater is the upcoming crime drama starring Matt Damon (The Martian) and Abigail Breslin (Zombieland: Double Tap). It’s directed by Tom McCarthy, who received an Oscar nomination for his work behind the camera on 2015’s critically acclaimed drama Spotlight, and shared the Best Writing Oscar with co-writer Josh Singer. He’s also co-written the script alongside Marcus Hinchey (All Good Things), Thomas Bidegain (Rust and Bone), and Noé Debré (Racer and the Jailbird).
Damon stars as Bill Baker, an ordinary oil worker from Stillwater, Oklahoma, who learns that his estranged daughter, who’s been studying in France for the last year, has been arrested for murdering her girlfriend. With her legal options exhausted, and firmly believing in her innocence, he uproots his life and moves to Marseille in order to both support his daughter and prove her innocence in the face of an unhelpful justice system – something further complicated by language and cultural differences with which he has no knowledge or experience.
The official plot synopsis is as follows:
Stillwater follows an American oil-rig roughneck (Matt Damon) from Oklahoma who travels to Marseille to visit his estranged daughter (Abigail Breslin), in prison for a murder she claims she did not commit. Confronted with language barriers, cultural differences, and a complicated legal system, Bill builds a new life for himself in France as he makes it his personal mission to exonerate his daughter.
Let’s take a look:
Maybe it’s just me, but I think this movie would look more interesting if Damon was playing super spy Jason Bourne, and going about things in his normal fashion, rather than everyman Bill Baker. There’s nothing particularly wrong with it, the direction and performances all seem good, but it just didn’t grab my attention because I didn’t get any real sense of tension from the trailer.
What do you think?
Stillwater is due for release in the US on 30 July. It also stars Camille Cottin, Deanna Dunagan, Lilou Siauvaud, Robert Peters, and Moussa Maaskri.
Last Updated: May 14, 2021
