UPDATED: Lux Artists confirmed that “Polaris” has not been shot. Scratch this one off your 2024 must-see list. Much thanks to DownTheLine.
EARLIER: Last we heard, Lynne Ramsay had, apparently, told Variety that she already shot a new film, “Polaris,” with Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara. This news took us all by surprise given that nobody had even heard of the project.
In the months since, I’ve been trying to corroborate this information and did wonder if the report was some kind of mistake, or if Ramsay had misspoken. I couldn’t really get an answer.
IndieWire is now reporting, in their 2024 preview, that the film was shot in mid-2023. Should we take this as gospel? I guess? They got this information from somewhere, and certainly not from the Variety piece.
“Polaris” is set in the 1890s. It’s a period film, about an ice photographer (Phoenix) who meets the devil in Alaska. The film was shot on location in Alaska, and that’s maybe why nobody noticed it was filming.
The genre being described here is “horror, mystery, thriller”. Obviously, we’re absolutely intrigued by this one. Ramsay is a major talent, but she’s only directed four films during the course of her 24-year career (“Ratcatcher,” “Morvern Callar,” “We Need to Talk About Kevin” and “You Were Never Really Here”).
Last we heard from Ramsay, she had premiered “You Were Never Really Here” at Cannes in 2017. It screened without end credits, as the film had just wrapped shooting that very month. It still managed to garner great reviews.
If it is indeed ready, then we can expect “Polaris” to world premiere at next year’s Cannes Film Festival.