The undisputed master of dramatic fiction — a poet of primal urgency, and all-around literary behemoth — Eric Jonrosh has seen his completed vision come to life in IFC’s The Spoils of Babylon. And lo, what a world we've stepped into. In a new clip from the greatest story of our time, Cynthia and her adopted brother Devon flirt with the illicit temptations of life, all while the world around them stands on the brink of utter collapse and disaster. It is a tale of circumstance, and sure to be an icon of the ages.
But not so far as to throw Spoils’ most torrid love affair off course, because where would all the fun be in that? So it is with those white-hot words — “It is not by augmenting the capital of the country, but by rendering a greater part of that capital active and productive than would otherwise be so, that the most judicious operations of banking can increase the industry of the country” — that the affair’s temptations unfurl themselves onto you, oh-so-hungrily awaiting public.
Actually written by Matt Piedmont and Andrew Steele (but don’t tell Eric Jonrosh — a.k.a. Will Ferrell — that bit), and also directed by Piedmont, the spoofy and melodramatic take on everyone’s grandmother’s favorite Australian mini-series, The Thorn Birds, is rich with excess and name recognition. Love, loss, and a heck of a lot of 80s hair filter the experience of the tragic Morehouse family and their quest for a life worth living, spanning decades of mystery, intrigue, and creepy incestual longing. Oh, forbidden love, you are a wild and unsettling mistress of vomit and violent creepery.
The Spoils of Babylon stars Tobey Maguire as Devon Morehouse, adopted son of Jonas Morehouse (Tim Robbins), an oil industry tycoon. Following his inclusion into the Morehouse family, Devon quickly falls for the wiles of his adoptive father’s daughter, Cynthia (Kristen Wiig). The tale involves a cavalcade of characters, including Devon’s eventual love interest Dixie Mellonworth (Jessica Alba), Cynthia’s evil son Winston (Haley Joel Osment) with husband Chet Halner (Michael Sheen), and a mysterious United States Army General (Val Kilmer).
And, oh yeah, it’s an absolutely batshit insane-looking comedy, if you somehow didn’t pick up on that from the get-go.
The Spoils of Babylon will premiere its epic run on January 9, 2014 on IFC.
