Angelina Jolie is back in the director’s chair for her latest, By The Sea. The film follows an American writer named Roland (Brad Pitt) and his wife, Vanessa (Jolie), who arrive in a tranquil and picturesque seaside resort in 1970s France, their marriage in apparent crisis.
Jolie wrote, directed, and co-starred with Brad Pitt (Killing Them Softly) in this story of a couple spending time in 1970s France when their marriage is falling apart. By the Sea will either be two incredibly good-looking rich people in an amazing location looking miserable for two hours or, if it’s good, the setting will actually do its job and help heighten the characters’ turmoil. If a couple can’t be happy in paradise, then where can they be happy? And it’s not like you leave your personal problems behind when you get on a plane and go on vacation.
Here’s the official plot synopsis for By the Sea:
Written, directed and produced by Academy Award® winner Angelina Jolie Pitt, By the Sea serves as her directorial follow-up to Universal Pictures’ epic Unbroken. By the Sea follows an American writer named Roland (Pitt) and his wife, Vanessa (Jolie Pitt), who arrive in a tranquil and picturesque seaside resort in 1970s France, their marriage in apparent crisis. As they spend time with fellow travelers, including young newlyweds Lea (Mélanie Laurent) and François (Melvil Poupaud), and village locals Michel (Niels Arestrup) and Patrice (Richard Bohringer), the couple begins to come to terms with unresolved issues in their own lives.
In its style, and its treatment of themes of the human experience, By the Sea is inspired by European cinema and theater of the ’60s and ’70s. Jolie Pitt is joined behind the scenes by a key crew that includes cinematographer Christian Berger (The White Ribbon), who used his Cine Reflect Lighting System to shoot the film; production designer Jon Hutman (Unbroken); editor Patricia Rommel (The Lives of Others); and costume designer Ellen Mirojnick (Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps). Pitt joins her in production duties, while Chris Brigham (Inception), Holly Goline-Sadowski (Unbroken) and Michael Vieira (Unbroken) serve as executive producers.
By the Sea opens in theaters November 13th, 2015.
