>> ELIZABETHTOWN
A TALE OF LOVE, DEATH AND LAUGHTER
Orlando Bloom was Ridley Scott’s knight in shining armour in Kingdom of Heaven, a milk-guzzling boxer in The Calcium Kid and he got up to some serious swashbuckling in Pirates of the Caribbean. But has he got what it takes to play the romantic lead in the upcoming rom-com Elizabethtown?
Written, produced and directed by Oscar winner Cameron Crowe, this romantic drama should be a sure-fire hit. After all, Crowe has already received critical acclaim and box office success with Vanilla Sky, Almost Famous and Jerry Maguire.
Bloom plays Drew Baylor, a trainer designer whose latest creation fails miserably, costing his company millions. After being fired and dumped by his girlfriend he starts to contemplate suicide. To top it all off, his father dies suddenly, an event that brings him back to his home town in Kentucky. On the flight home, Drew meets Claire (Kirsten Dunst), a quirky air hostess and romance blossoms. If you’ve seen Garden State you might well be suffering a bout of déjà vu, as the plot is uncannily similar.
Kirsten Dunst is no stranger to rom-coms (Bring It On, Get Over It, Wimbledon) and Orlando seems to be the object of female affections everywhere since his appearances in Pirates of the Caribbean and Troy so Elizabethtown should certainly put bums on seats. However, whether it will have the same success as Garden State remains to be seen. Can Bloom and Dunst be Crowe’s new Tom Cruise and Kate Hudson? Only time will tell.
With a strong supporting cast including Jessica Biel (Blade Trinity) as Drew’s ex-girlfriend, Susan Sarandon (Alfie, Shall We Dance) as his mother, Judy Greer (13 Going On 30, The Village) as his sister and Alec Baldwin, Elizabethtown oozes talent and stars old and new.
Described by Bloom as ‘a joyous, uplifting, all-embracing life adventure’ it looks like this film will be the one to warm the cockles of your heart as summer draws to a close.
Emma Farley