The Pretenders

Terry is an aspiring film director. Catherine—an ambitious actress. And then there’s the third guy, Phillip, a photographer. Their friendship, glued initially by pure cinephilia, turns into a passionate love triangle, while the first steps into show business become a series of challenges and disappointments. James Franco pays tribute to the French New Wave—people quote François Truffaut and watch Jean-Luc Godard’s films, while the movie’s plot resembles Jules and Jim mixed with Bernard Bertolucci’s The Dreamers. The leading role was supposed to be played by Anton Yelchin (the main character of Love, Antosha, a documentary screened at this year’s American Film Festival). However, after his death Jack Kilmer (The Giant, Lords of Chaos) took over the leading role. He is accompanied by Jane Levy (Don’t Breathe) and Shameik Moore (Dope). The finished movie had to wait almost three years for its debut. Even though American critics had many reservations towards the Pretenders, James Franco proved that he is a film director who is not afraid of challenges, who is always looking for his own voice and does not care about the critics.