Surprise: Garth Davis’ ‘Foe’ to World Premiere at NYFF — Test Reaction

Many of us were surprised to see Garth Davis’s “Foe” show up in the New York Film Festival lineup this morning. Davis isn’t necessarily the type of filmmaker NYFF would select, but consider us intrigued.

Davis shot this ambitious sci-fi thriller, his third feature, in January of 2022. It’s now ready for take-off, but will only premiere at NYFF. An October 6th release date has also been set up, via Amazon.

“Foe,” based on the novel of the same name from author Iain Reid, is being described as a “taut, sensual, psychological mind-bender.” It stars Saoirse Ronan, Paul Mescal and Aaron Pierre.

Here’s the synopsis:

“Set slightly in the future, after severe climate change has ruined farmland. A farmer and his wife struggle on one of the last remaining farms until a knock on the door changes things.”

Now here’s a reaction from someone who, a couple of months ago, attended a test screening:

It stars Paul Mescal and Saoirse Ronan as a couple living out in the middle of a desert like area. One night a stranger arrives and offers Mescal the opportunity to be part of a program with the incentive being a hefty payment which they both agree they need, they both agree to it and what follows is an examination of their relationship for a year. As they slowly approach the date of his leave into space, their relationship begins to strain and Mescal slowly begins to realize he might not know who he is. Ronan is also beginning to question her dreams and ambitions missed. The movie is quite a slow burn but it has the benefit of two hypnotic and deep performances and the sci-fi elements really come crashing in during the last 15 minutes.

Davis broke out with his Oscar-nominated feature “Lion,” he then struck out with his follow-up, “Mary Magdelene.” You can read yesterday’s Vanity Fair piece on the film, included are exclusive images.