Cannes Film Festival 2014 Analysis: Which Competition Film will Be a Breakout Hit?
With the Cannes Film Festival having announced the official selection for this year's film festival, pundits are looking at what films will be breakout hits and which ones will end up forgotten.
In past years the competition slate has shown a number of Oscar nominees and critically acclaimed films. Last year, some of the breakout movies were "Inside Llewyn Davis," "Blue is the Warmest Color," "Nebraska," and "The Past." Other years have seen "The Pianist," "The Artist," "the Tree of Life," and "A Prophet."
This year the festival has 20 movies in the competition slate from some of the most recognizable directors in the industry. Among them are Michel Hazanavicius' new film "The Search." The film is anticipated because it reunites the director and his wife Bérénice Bejo and also stars Annette Benning. The film has no distributor but based on the buzz and director's track record this could end up being one of the hottest films for distributors and an Oscar nominee at the end of the year.
Bennett Miller will have his film "Foxcatcher" in the competition this year after having been delayed. The movie had Oscar buzz last year when it was slated to be released in November. However, Sony Pictures Classics delayed it and currently has no release date. Miller has been a huge draw for the past few years and his first two films "Capote" and "Moneyball" have been nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars. Sony Pictures is probably waiting for the premiere but based on the buzz, it is likely the movie will be a hit and have a lot more hype after Cannes.
David Cronenberg will be back to the competition with his new film "Map to the Stars." While the movie stars Julianne Moore, Robert Pattinson and Mia Wasikowska, it will be interesting to see if it resembles Cronenberg's past two films "A Dangerous Method" and "Cosmopolis," or if it resembles the more mainstream "Eastern Promises" and "A History of Violence." Based on how the film turns out, it could either be a huge hit or it could end up being art house fare that quickly disappears from the circuit.
Tommy Lee Jones will also return to the Festival with "The Homesman." The western has already generated Oscar talk but his last movie "The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada" won awards at the festival but could not get Oscar nominations. However this new film has A-list actors and that will be enough to generate buzz.
One of the interesting choices is "Saint Laurent." The movie is the second feature about Yves Saint Laurent this year. This new film stars Lea Seydoux, Brady Recently Corbet, Gaspard Ulliel and Louis Garrel and is directed by Bertrand Bonello. The Berlin Film Festival featured Jalil Lesperts "Yves Sain Laurent" feature which premiered to mixxed reviews.
Other films that could breakout at the festival include Mike Leigh's "Mr. Turner" which is slated to be released by Sony, as well Atom Egoyan's "Captive" starring Ryan Reynolds. Ken Loach's "Jimmy Hall" also has a chance at becoming a breakout hit while the Dardenne brothers' "Deux Jours, Une Nuit" could become the big French film that obtains a big U.S. following.