As expected, it has once again been an eventful year at the Cannes Film Festival.
The 74th edition of the annual event has earned attention for a wide range of highly anticipated films, including Paul Verhoeven’s Benedetta, Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch, and or Leos Carax’s musical Annette starring Adam Driver.
Focus has also been firmly on Stillwater, helmed by the director of the Academy Award-winning Spotlight, Tom McCarthy. It stars Matt Damon in the lead, who has impressed in efforts such as The Martian, The Departed, the Bourne franchise, and beyond.
The premiere took place on Thursday, July 8th, but general audiences don’t have long to wait until they can see what all the buzz is about.
So, here’s where to watch Stillwater when the release date rolls around…
Where to watch Stillwater: Streaming or cinemas?
- The movie will be available in US cinemas from Friday, July 30th 2021. It is being released by Focus Features.
As of yet, there has been no news regarding a streaming date, so the big screen is the place to be if you want to see the film upon its initial release.
Over in the UK, on the other hand, it will be screening in cinemas from Friday, August 6th 2021. Select Showcase and Cineworld branches are also offering a single screening early on Tuesday, August 3rd 2021.
While there has been no streaming announcement, it’s likely that it will be made available on the likes of Amazon Prime Video and iTunes as an Early Access rental roughly one month after its theatrical release date.
As for what to expect, Matt Damon stars as Bill Baker, a Stillwater oil worker who discovers that his daughter Allison has been falsely arrested and charged with murdering her friend Lina while studying in Marseille.
He quickly sets off to visit her in prison and is devastated to find she has run out of legal options. Taking matters into his own hands, Bill moves to France and gets to work in efforts to clear her name.
Help comes from Virginie, a French woman, and her young daughter Maya, while Bill is increasingly put to the test, compelling him to ask just how far he’ll go to save his daughter.
Who joins Matt Damon?
Stillwater boasts an impressive cast and you can check out the players and their respective roles below:
- Matt Damon as Bill Baker
- Abigail Breslin as Allison
- Camille Cottin as Virginie
- Ginifer Ree as Airport Reporter
- Deanna Dunagan as Sharon
- Ryan Music as Press Photographer
- Lilou Siauvaud as Maya
- Kyle Jacob Henry as On Camera Reporter
- Robert Peters as Pastor
- Lisandro Boccacci as Airport Supervisor
- Kelly Bellacci as Lawyer
- Moussa Maaskri as Dirosa
- Justin France as Young Activist
- Leesa Neidel as Airport Attendant
- Dustin Wilson as Camera Operator
- Clarisse Tennessy as Female Prison Officer
- Emily Bertels as Allison’s friend
- Thomas Rivas as Bill’s Crew Member
For a more extensive cast list, IMDb has you covered.
“They could not have been more gracious”
While chatting with Deadline in Cannes, Matt opened up about being able to spend time with real roughnecks to help him fully embody the role of Bill:
“We felt like the access they gave us was incredible and it’s kind of the luckiest part of our job, the windows people give us into their lives… they could not have been more gracious, taking us around, taking us to these oil rigs, showing us what they do.”
He suggested that the style of goatee, hat, sunglasses, etc. that his character wears in the film is “almost like a uniform” and he also addressed the physicality he had to bring to the part:
“Tom really wanted the threat of violence to be right under the surface at all times. Then you can kind of understand this past life that people keep talking about, that he is capable of doing that.”
Stillwater is screening in US cinemas from Friday, July 30th 2021.
