Having Will Smith headlining his first two American films, The Pursuit of Happyness and Seven Pounds, went a long way in establishing Gabriele Muccino's directorial career. However once he and Smith went their separate ways, Muccino was left with the sports rom-com Playing for Keeps and, unsurprisingly, all has been quiet ever since. Now Muccino is back and returning to heavy dramatic territory with Fathers and Daughters, and this time he's recruited Russell Crowe for what looks like a melodramatic effort.
Co-starring a tremendous cast that includes Amanda Seyfried, Aaron Paul, Bruce Greenwood, Diane Kruger, Jane Fonda, Janet McTeer, Octavia Spencer, and Quvenzhané Wallis, the film centers on a young woman struggling to come to terms with a difficult upbringing by her ill single father, who happens to be an acclaimed novelist.
Despite the presence of the Oscar-winning Crowe and strong supporting cast, this trailer suggests the film will be heavy on emotional manipulation, which has been a frequent criticism of Muccino's prior work. Perhaps that is why there has yet to be an official U.S. release date. Here's the official synopsis:
Jake Davis, a Pulitzer-winning novelist, finds himself fighting against the world when a fatal car accident leaves him to raise his 5-year-old daughter, Katie, all on his own. Overcome with guilt from the loss of his wife, he struggles with the daily routine of raising a child compounded by his overbearing relatives intent on taking her away from him. As the narrative weaves back and forth between the 1980s, and present day, we come to learn how 30-year-old Katie battles the demons that stemmed from her troubled childhood and simultaneously watch how Jake fights to hold on to the thing he loves most — his daughter, at the cost of his fortune, sanity, and ultimately even his own life.
