Dito Montiel has had no shortage of talent to work with over the years. He helped power the early careers of Channing Tatum and Shia LaBeouf, he's directed Dwayne Johnson, Emma Roberts, Liam Hemsworth, Al Pacino, Juliette Binoche, and was at the helm of Robin Williams' final screen performance. But despite all of that star power he has never had a hit movie. Worse, he's never really had a movie since his debut that the majority of people have liked. Could that change with his newest film, the solider-returns-home thriller Man Down?
Reunited with LaBeouf and featuring another great cast of Jai Courtney, Kate Mara, Clifton Collins, Charlie Shotwell and Gary Oldman, Montiel's latest follows a U.S. Marine returned home from the Middle East, only to go in search of his missing wife and son. Here's the full synopsis:
When U.S. Marine Gabriel Drummer (Shia LaBeouf) returns home from his tour in Afghanistan, he finds that the place he once called home is no better than the battlefields he fought on overseas. Accompanied by his best friend Devin Roberts (Jai Courtney), a hardnosed marine whose natural instinct is to shoot first and ask questions later, he searches desperately for the whereabouts of his estranged son, Jonathan (Charlie Shotwell) and wife, Natalie (Kate Mara). In their search, the two intercept Charles (Clifton Collins), a man carrying vital information about the whereabouts of Gabriel’s family. As we revisit the past, we are guided in unraveling the puzzle of Gabriel’s experience and what will eventually lead us to finding his family.
That it's been sitting around since debuting at Venice last year probably isn't a good sign, but based solely on this trailer it doesn't look too bad. LaBeouf's handling of PTSD will be key, that's for sure. Man Down opens December 2nd.
