This year as Sundance concluded, actor turned writer-director Mark Webber was garnering plenty of buzz. Not only did he offer memorable supporting turns in two of the fest's female-fronted comedies (Save the Date and For a Good Time, Call…) but he also unveiled a touching personal drama that he wrote, directed and starred in, opposite his real-life son, Isaac.
This film called The End of Love centers on an aspiring actor whose forced to shoulder single parenthood when the mother of his two-year-old unexpectedly dies. As the festival drew to a close at the end of January, the film had not yet secured distribution, though Katey declared this "heartfelt and emotionally wrenching film" deserved a theatrical run. In March Wrekin Hill Entertainment finally picked up the picture's domestic distribution rights, and now we have its trailer, which wears its heart on its sleeve and boasts appearances from Amanda Seyfried, Shannyn Sossamon and Michael Cera.
As you can see in the highlighted pull quotes, the film's raw and naturalistic style drew praise. Part of what grounds this approach was Webber's drive to keep his son unaware that they were making a movie at all, so takes were kept to a minimum and there was no script to speak of, though the adult members of the cast, whose characters were created with them in mind, had an outline to help them maneuver the feature's beats. It's a risky approach, but if the buzz from Sundance can be trusted, Webber's gamble paid off beautifully. But you can decide for yourself when The End of Love comes to theaters January 21, 2012.
