'Domino' Trailer: Brian De Palma's Delayed Thriller Is Finally Being Released
Brian De Palma did not have fun making Domino, and there was some question if the film would ever see the light of day. The filmmaker even gave an interview in which he effectively washed his hands of the movie. But now, Domino is being released, and there's a trailer to prove it. The thriller stars Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as a cop trying to track down the ISIS member who killed his partner. Coster-Waldau's fellow Game of Thrones cast member Carice van Houten also stars in the film, along with Guy Pearce. Watch the Domino trailer below.
Domino Trailer
Brian De Palma hasn't made a truly great film in a while, but I remain a fan. His earlier work still holds up, and his influence on filmmaking style resonates to this day. All that said, I'm not sure how to feel about Domino. This trailer is plenty tense, and even has a few De Palma tricks up its sleeve – there's a split diopter shot less than a minute in. But the behind-the-scenes turmoil surrounding the movie gives me pause.
Last year, De Palma gave an interview where he stated: "I never experienced such a horrible movie set." Yikes. According to the filmmaker, financing was an issue. "A large part of our team has not even been paid yet by the Danish producers. The film is finished and ready to go out, but I have no idea what its future will hold, it is currently in the hands of the producers. This was my first experience in Denmark and most likely my last."
Word had it that Domino was originally 148 minutes long. But the version being released clocks in at 89 minutes. Did De Palma sign off on this, or did the producers edit the film down themselves? The filmmaker's name is still all over the promotional material, which indicates he has some say in what's going on here. But the specter of a problematic production lingers.
Domino is described as "a thriller about a police officer (Coster-Waldau) who gets caught up in a cat and mouse chase with a duplicitous CIA agent (Guy Pearce) as the two take on ISIS." That may sound overtly political, but according to De Palma, the politics didn't interest him much. "It is the revenge story," he said. "The whole political aspect will be very little exploited, the film was more for me a new opportunity to explore a visual narrative. In the film, terrorists are obsessed with the idea that their actions are instantly visible live on the Internet or on TV."
I'll definitely be checking Domino out when I can, just because of De Palma's involvement. Hopefully, things turned out for the better. Domino opens in select theaters and On Demand May 31, 2019.