Olivia Thirlby is an invisible woman in a clip and poster for the supernatural drama, Above the Shadows. Thirlby, who’s best known for her roles in films like Juno and Dredd, stars here as Holly, a woman who’s disconnected from the world to the point of becoming quite literally invisible. However, everything changes when Holly encounters the one person who can still see her: Shayne (Alan Ritchson), a disgraced MMA fighter whose downfall was brought about by one of Holly’s tabloid photographs. Determined to make things right, Holly sets out to restore Shayne to his former glory… and maybe, just maybe, make herself visible again.
Written and directed by indie filmmaker Claudia Myers (Kettle of Fish, Fort Bliss), Above the Shadows also features Owen Campbell (The Americans) as Holly’s younger brother Troy, along with a supporting cast that includes Jim Gaffigan (Chappaquiddick), Megan Fox (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), and real-life MMA fighter-actor Tito Ortiz. The movie will make its world premiere as the opening night title at the 2019 Brooklyn Film Festival this Friday, May 31, ahead of its release in theaters and On Demand later this summer. In the meantime, we have an exclusive clip from the film to debut.
You can check out Screen Rant’s first look clip below, followed by the official Above the Shadows poster:
The clip focuses on a scene where Holly watches an experimental short that Troy shot over the course of several years using Kodak Super 8 mm film. In a press release statement, Myers explained she wanted this mini-movie within the movie “to stand out stylistically” from the rest of Above the Shadows and ultimately shot it on real Kodak Super 8 mm film, as a way of “combining the sense of nostalgia felt by the character with the beauty, textures, and vibrancy of film”. As established here, Troy has led a fairly isolated life, especially in the time since his sister faded (again, quite literally) from existence. According to the movie’s second unit DP, Edward Herrera, different film stocks were used for Troy’s short “to represent the character’s point of view, throughout the span of a few years”.
Between its cast, premise, and the thought poured into its craftsmanship (as these statements illustrate), Above the Shadows seems promising enough, and may offer a nice reprieve to this summer’s tentpoles when it arrives in a couple months. The film is slated to open in select theaters and On Demand starting Friday, July 19, so it’ll be readily available to watch at home for those who’re interested. There will also be a second screening at the Brooklyn Film Festival on Sunday, June 2, following its opening night showing. You can pick up tickets to the screenings HERE.
