Tuscaloosa (film)

Tuscaloosa is a 2019 American drama film directed by Philip Harder and starring Devon Bostick and Natalia Dyer.[4][5][6] It is based on the 1994 novel of the same name by W. Glasgow Phillips.[2][7][8] It is also Harder's directorial debut.[9]

Tuscaloosa
Directed byPhilip Harder
Produced byScott Franklin
Patrick Riley
Written byPhilip Harder
Based onTuscaloosa
by W. Glasgow Phillips
Starring
Music byMatt Hutchinson
Joshua Mosley
CinematographyTheo Stanley
Edited byClayton Condit
Production
company
Distributed byCinedigm[1]
Release date
  • October 5, 2019 (2019-10-05) (Nashville)[2]
  • March 13, 2020 (2020-03-13) (United States)[3]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Cast

Production

The film was shot entirely in the state of Minnesota,[10] with a number of scenes taking place at Carleton College[11] and some at and around director Philip Harder's home.[12] Harder first read the novel in the late 1990s and was immediately interested in directing a film adaptation. He approached Pixel Farm, a Minneapolis-based visual effects company that Harder had worked with regularly on music videos and commercials, to create the movie. Production was set to begin around the late 2000s, with a $3.4 million budget and Thora Birch in talks to star.[13] The financial crisis of 2007–2008 set back production and Harder was unable to get the funding necessary for the film.

Patrick Riley, one of the film's producers, was a neighbor of Harder. After getting to know him, he decided to help fund the movie. Most of the film was shot in two weeks in the fall of 2017.[14]

Plot Summary

The film follows Billy Mitchell, a recent college graduate, as he falls in love with Virginia, a patient at his father's mental institution. It takes place just after the Civil rights movement, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Because of this, there is much racial tension in the film. This is displayed through the relationship of Billy and his best friend Nigel, who is a black man fighting against the racist cops and other authorities throughout the movie. Billy is torn between helping his slightly crazy girlfriend escape, maintaining a friendship with his childhood friend, and making his successful father proud of him.[15]

Reception

The film has a 70% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.[16] Brian Shaer of Film Threat gave it an eight out of ten.[17] It has an average score of 3.3/5 on Letterboxd.[18]

References
  1. "Cinedigm Acquires TUSCALOOSA with Devon Bostick & Stranger Things' Natalia Dyer". GlobeNewswire. 7 February 2020. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  2. "Tuscaloosa, Starring Stranger Things' Natalia Dyer and Devon Bostick, to Have Festival Premiere at Nashville Film Festival". Business Wire. 24 September 2019. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
  3. "Cinedigm Acquires TUSCALOOSA with Devon Bostick & Stranger Things' Natalia Dyer". Associated Press. 7 February 2020. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
  4. Ordona, Michael (12 March 2020). "'Tuscaloosa' takes it a little too easy". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  5. "Tuscaloosa, Starring Stranger Things' Natalia Dyer and Devon Bostick, to Have Festival Premiere at Nashville Film Festival". Associated Press. 24 September 2019. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  6. N'Duka, Amanda (27 October 2017). "Devon Bostick & 'Stranger Things' Natalia Dyer To Star In 'Tuscaloosa'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  7. Colurso, Mary (21 February 2020). "Watch trailer for 'Tuscaloosa' with 'Stranger Things' star". Al.com. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  8. Mark Hughes Cobb (13 March 2020). "Film's turmoil is set in 1970s Tuscaloosa". The Fresno Bee. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  9. Berdan, Kathy (18 March 2020). "'Tuscaloosa' – southern movie made in Minnesota – available to stream". St. Paul Pioneer Press. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  10. Scheck, Frank (12 March 2020). "'Tuscaloosa': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  11. News. "Hollywood comes to campus - Carleton College". www.carleton.edu. Retrieved 2020-11-30.
  12. "Minnesota director's debut movie is called 'Tuscaloosa' but it was filmed right here". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2020-11-30.
  13. Schilling, Peter (10 April 2007). "The Man Behind the Camera". Minnesota Monthly. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  14. Ross, Jenna (10 April 2020). "Minnesota director's debut movie is called 'Tuscaloosa' but it was filmed right here". Star Tribune. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  15. "Tuscaloosa". Tuscaloosa. Retrieved 2020-11-30.
  16. "Tuscaloosa". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  17. Shaer, Brian (12 March 2020). "Tuscaloosa". Film Threat. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  18. Tuscaloosa (2020), retrieved 2020-11-30


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