‘American Pastoral’ First Trailer and Poster: Ewan McGregor Stars and Directs

American Pastoral Poster

Lionsgate’s released the official trailer and film poster for American Pastoral, directed by Ewan McGregor. McGregor (Beginners, The Impossible) makes his feature film directorial debut with the dramatic film based on Philip Roth’s novel. McGregor also leads the cast that includes Jennifer Connolly (Requiem for a Dream, A Beautiful Mind), Dakota Fanning (Every Secret Thing, The Runaways), Uzo Aduba (Orange is the New Black), and David Strathairn (The Blacklist). American Pastoral will open in theaters on October 21, 2016.


In an interview with Vanity Fair, actor/director McGregor explained why he stepped behind the camera to direct American Pastoral. “I have dreamt of directing a feature for the last 15 years and never found the ‘right’ story. I wanted to direct, not for the sake of being a director, but because there was a story I HAD to tell. Well American Pastoral gave me everything I was looking for. I was incredibly lucky that I had Lakeshore’s trust and incredible talent in front of and behind the camera to make Roth’s story the film I thought it should be. The creative collaboration with the cast and the crew was as thrilling as I had hoped it would be. I was a very happy man making this film and it is the film I wanted it to be,” said McGregor.

The Plot: Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning Philip Roth novel, American Pastoral follows a family whose seemingly idyllic existence is shattered by the social and political turmoil of the 1960s. Ewan McGregor stars as Seymour “Swede” Levov, a once legendary high school athlete who is now a successful businessman married to Dawn (Connelly), a former beauty queen. But turmoil brews beneath the polished veneer of Swede’s life. When his beloved teenage daughter, Merry (Fanning), disappears after being accused of committing a violent act, Swede dedicates himself to finding her and reuniting his family. What he discovers shakes him to the core, forcing him to look beneath the surface and confront the chaos that is shaping the world around him.

Watch the American Pastoral trailer: