Dane DeHaan gave us Life today, which is to say the talented Chronicle actor tweeted the trailer for Anton Corbijn’s James Dean biopic.
DeHaan stars as American icon Dean, while Robert Pattinson plays Dennis Stock, the journalist who famously profiled Dean for LIFE Magazine in 1955, shortly before the actor became a household name. Stock was responsible for some of the most iconic images of Dean that we have today, including this one, the taking of which features prominently in the film’s trailer.
As per Slashfilm, Life’s premise is not unlike that of the recent David Foster Wallace biopic The End of the Tour: DeHaan and Pattinson’s characters embark on a road trip together just as the tragically short-lived Dean is starting his ascent to superstardom, with the two men revealing and rediscovering themselves during the journey. Ben Kingsley and Joel Edgerton also star in Life, which was scripted by Luke Davies (Candy).
However, advance screenings of Corbijn’s film have polarized critics. Variety calls Life an “engaging, elegiac portrait of a legend in the making,” praising DeHaan’s “magnetic take on James Dean,” while The Guardian disparages the film as “a waxworky piece of American icon worship” that “has the inert stasis of a photo spread.”
U.S. audiences won’t be able to decide for themselves just yet: Life is currently without an official stateside release date, although rumor has it the film may come out on Sept. 30, the 60th anniversary of Dean’s death. Life opens in France Sept. 9 and the U.K. Sept. 25. Check out the trailer above.