Poolman (film)

Poolman
Directed byChris Pine
Written by
  • Chris Pine
  • Ian Gotler
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyMatthew Jensen
Edited byStacey Schroeder
Music byAndrew Bird[1]
Production
companies
Distributed byVertical Entertainment
Release date
  • September 11, 2023 (2023-09-11) (TIFF)
Running time
100 minutes[2]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Poolman is a 2023 American comedy mystery film directed, produced, co-written by and starring Chris Pine in his directorial debut. It premiered at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival.

Premise

A pool cleaner in Los Angeles uncovers a sizeable water heist, one in the same vein as Chinatown.[3]

Cast

Production

It was announced in February 2022 that Chris Pine was set to make his directorial debut on the film, which he co-wrote the screenplay for with Ian Gotler. Pine will also star in the film alongside Annette Bening and Danny DeVito.[3] Pine came up with the idea for the film during a conversation with director Patty Jenkins, who will serve as a producer.[5] In May, Ariana DeBose and Jennifer Jason Leigh were added to the cast, with Matthew Jensen set as cinematographer.[6] In July, DeWanda Wise joined the cast.[7]

Filming began in June 2022 in Los Angeles.[8] The film moved to post-production by November 2022, with the distribution rights being sold by AGC International to Paramount Pictures, StudioCanal, Lionsgate Films and other companies for multiple countries outside the United States.[9] The rights for the UK and Ireland were sold to Signature Entertainment.[4]

Release

The film's world premiere took place at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival on September 11, 2023.[2][10] In December 2023, Vertical Entertainment acquired distribution rights to the film.[11]

Reception

The film's initial reaction was largely negative. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 24% based on 23 reviews, with an average score of 3.6/10.[12] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 20 out of 100 based on 9 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[13]

Michael Rechtshaffen, writing for The Hollywood Reporter, called the film a "shrill misfire" and predicted that it would "likely have a tough time finding a home".[14] Siddhant Adlakha from IndieWire opined that the film was "disastrous" and "[i]t’s only 100 minutes long, but upward of 99 of those minutes are likely to be spent in silent boredom, if not irritated disbelief at being subjected to such guileless, artless nonsense".[15]

References

  1. ^ "Andrew Bird Scoring Chris Pine's 'Poolman'". Film Music Reporter. September 11, 2023. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Poolman". Toronto International Film Festival. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
  3. ^ a b Wiseman, Andreas (February 8, 2022). "AGC Launches Chris Pine's Directorial Debut Poolman With Patty Jenkins & Stacey Sher Producing; Pine Leads Cast With Annette Bening & Danny DeVito – EFM Hot Pic". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  4. ^ a b Wiseman, Andreas (October 26, 2022). "Chris Pine's Directorial Debut 'Poolman' Gets UK Deal". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
  5. ^ Odman, Sydney (March 30, 2022). "Chris Pine on How Directorial Debut Poolman Came Together". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
  6. ^ Lodderhose, Diana (May 16, 2022). "Ariana DeBose & Jennifer Jason Leigh Join Chris Pine's Directorial Debut Poolman". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  7. ^ Kroll, Justin (July 7, 2022). "Jurassic World: Dominions DeWanda Wise Joins Chris Pine's Directorial Debut Poolman". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
  8. ^ Travis, Emlyn (July 1, 2022). "Prepare to Gasp Over Unrecognizable Chris Pine's New Look". E!. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
  9. ^ Kay, Jeremy (November 1, 2022). "AGC International reports major pre-sales on Chris Pine directing debut 'Poolman' (exclusive)". Screen Daily. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  10. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (July 24, 2023). "TIFF Lineup Unveiled Amid Strikes: Awards Contenders Dumb Money, The Holdovers, Rustin; Starry Pics For Sale With Scarlett Johansson, Kate Winslet, Michael Keaton, Viggo Mortensen & More". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
  11. ^ Grobar, Matt (December 20, 2023). "Chris Pine Comedy 'Poolman' Lands At Vertical". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 20, 2023.
  12. ^ https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/poolman
  13. ^ https://www.metacritic.com/movie/poolman/
  14. ^ https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/poolman-review-chris-pine-annette-bening-1235587324/
  15. ^ https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/poolman-review-chris-pine-1234905157/

External links