American Pastoral (2016)

An All-American college star and his beauty queen wife watch their seemingly perfect life fall apart as their daughter joins the turmoil of '60s America.

Director:

Ewan McGregor

Writers:

Philip Roth (based on the novel by), John Romano (screenplay by)

Stars:

Ewan McGregor, Jennifer Connelly, Dakota Fanning

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ewan McGregor	...	Swede Levov
Jennifer Connelly	...	Dawn Levov
Dakota Fanning	...	Merry Levov
Peter Riegert	...	Lou Levov
Rupert Evans	...	Jerry Levov
Uzo Aduba	...	Vicky
Molly Parker	...	Sheila Smith
Valorie Curry	...	Rita Cohen
Hannah Nordberg	...	Merry (12 Years Old)
Julia Silverman	...	Sylvia Levov
Mark Hildreth	...	Agent Dolan
Samantha Mathis	...	Penny Hamlin
David Strathairn	...	Nathan Zuckerman
Ocean James	...	Merry (8 Years Old) (as Ocean Nalu James)
David Whalen	...	Bill Orcutt

Storyline

Seymour Levov, going by the nickname of 'Swede' in the Jewish community he was born into, was even more of an all-American than Douglas Fairbanks himself. He had just everything an American idol can dream of: not only was the tall muscular young man a high school star athlete but he married a beauty queen named Dawn in the bargain. And as if all this were not enough, Swede later became the successful manager of the glove factory his father had founded, which allowed him to live with his wife in a beautiful house in the New Jersey countryside. Well-mannered, always bright, smiling and positive, conservative but with a liberal edge, what bad could ever happen to him? And yet...this was reckoning without fate and its obnoxious irony, Swede and Dawn's nemesis manifesting itself in the person of Merry, their beloved daughter who in her teens unexpectedly turned into a violent activist.

---

Plot Keywords:

social criticism | vietnam war | 1960s radical | nuclear family | bombing | 

---

Taglines:

A radically ordinary story.

---

Genres:

Crime | Drama

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some strong sexual material, language and brief violent images

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Site

Country:

Hong Kong USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 October 2016 (USA)

Also Known As:

El fin del sueño americano

Filming Locations:

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$149,038, 23 October 2016, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$541,457, 25 November 2016

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lakeshore Entertainment,TIK Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Surround 7.1 Dolby Digital Dolby Atmos

Color:

Black and White (archive footage) Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Ewan MacGregor insisted on rehearsals and clearing the set for the actors to become familiar with each other and their characters so they could comfortably work together before shooting any scenes.

---

Goofs

A 1947 newspaper article shows the surname of Newark's mayor as Cole. The surname of Newark's mayor in 1947 was Murphy.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Nathan Zuckerman: [narrating as WWII era dance music plays] Let's remember the energy. America had won the war. The depression was over. Sacrifice was over. The upsurge of life was contagious. We celebrated a moment of collective inebriation that we would never know again. Nothing like it in all the years that followed from our childhood until tonight, the 45th reunion of our high school class.
Nathan Zuckerman: [now walking down a school hallway] At 30 or 40, a gathering of my old classmates would have been exactly ...

---

Connections

Featured in The Graham Norton Show: Danny DeVito/Ewan McGregor/Sam Neill/Miranda Hart/John Bishop/Amber Riley (2016)

---

Soundtracks

Moon River
Written by Henry Mancini, Johnny Mercer
Performed by Priscilla Ahn with Raney Shockne

User Reviews

An engaging and thought provoking drama

This film tells the story of a middle class family in the a United States of America in the sixties, when there were political turmoil and social unrests. A teenage girl turns radical, leaving behind a trail of destruction and regret.

I often have not liked films that are directed by actors or actresses. Hence, I have not expected "American Pastoral" to be so engaging. The interpersonal dynamics in the film are closing and convincing. I five myself trying to interpret how and why the girl turns out the way she dies. It is also a great plot point that the psychiatrist does know her stuff, and sees what is happening before other people figure it out. The contrasts between the reactions of the father and the mother after the tragedy, and also the contrasts between the speed of the subsequent recovery are astounding. I think this film is an engaging and thought provoking drama. I enjoyed it.