One of the movies that has a ton of heat already focused on it even before the Sundance Film Festival begins is “Z For Zachariah.” Chris Pine, a brunette Margot Robbie, and Chiwetel Ejiofor co-star in this story that takes place “in the wake of a disaster that wipes out most of civilization,” according to the official synopsis. “Two men and a young woman find themselves in an emotionally-charged love triangle as the last known survivors.”
Craig Zobel's last film that played here, “Compliance,” was a cold-blooded and intensely well-made look at a true story that still gives me chills when I think about it. I am a huge fan of his first feature film, “Great World Of Sound,” as well, and I am excited to see anything Zobel makes.
Today, we've got an exclusive debut for you of the first clip from the film. In it, we see a tender moment between these three friends, presumably as they're starting to settle into this strange new world of theirs.
Check it out embedded at the top of this story. What gets me is that look from Ejiofor at the end of the clip, just as it fades to black. Things are not going to go well between those three. I'm also struck by how transformative something as simple as hair color is on Robbie. She's a lovely young woman, but looking at her here, I don't see even a hint of the Duchess, her character from “Wolf Of Wall Street.” I have a feeling Robbie is someone we're going to be watching for many, many years to come.
And fingers crossed this is a great role for Chris Pine. I thought he was amazing in Joe Carnahan's “Stretch,” but no one saw the film. Pine is too interesting to be locked down only doing big Hollywood action movies. There is a stealth freak hiding in there, and I want to see more and more filmmakers try to push him to new places onscreen.
“Z For Zachariah” premieres this Saturday at 8:30 PM at the Sundance Film Festival, and we'll have a review for you as soon as the screening ends.