First Trailer For JOE, Starring Nicolas Cage

Filmmaker David Gordon Green looks to continue his comeback to independent roots. After spending a few years to go mainstream with the gross-out comedies like Pineapple Express and The Sitter, his last year small-scale Prince Avalanche marked the return to the indie dramas that began his career.

Such is the case with his next project, the hard-hitting drama Joe, which is set to continue the trend. The film, based on the gritty novel by Larry Brown, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival last year. Things have been pretty quiet around Joe, the southern drama that stars Nicolas Cage in a role we haven’t seen from him in ages.

Today, Le Pacte has unveiled this first international trailer and there’s a soulful quality to it similar to Mud. The same young actor Tye Sherdian also stars supporting his titular lead, an ex-con with a kind heart, as he becomes something of a father figure to a young boy.

The film will hit French theaters at the end of April and has yet to gain a U.S. date, but is expected to arrive before the summer.

In the dirty unruly world of small-town Texas, ex-convict Joe Ransom (Cage) has tried to put his dark past behind him and to live a simple life. He works for a lumber company by day, drinks by night. But when 15-year-old Gary (Sheridan) – a kid trying to support his family – comes to town, desperate for work, Joe has found a way to atone for his sins – to finally be someone’s hero. As Joe tries to protect Gary, the pair will take the twisting road to redemption in the hope for a better life in this tough, hard-hitting but incredibly moving story.