The Hanging Sun is a 2022 Italian-British noir thriller film directed by Francesco Carrozzini. It is an adaptation of the 2015 novel Midnight Sun by Jo Nesbø.

The Hanging Sun
Directed byFrancesco Carrozzini
Screenplay byStefano Bises
Based onMidnight Sun
by Jo Nesbø
Starring
CinematographyNicolaj Bruel
Edited byGiuseppe Trepiccione
Music byAndrea Farri
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • 10 September 2022 (2022-09-10) (Venice)
  • 12 September 2022 (2022-09-12) (Italy)
Running time
93 minutes
Countries
  • Italy
  • United Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

The film had its world premiere as the closing film of the 79th Venice International Film Festival on 10 September 2022.

Premise

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John (Alessandro Borghi) is on the run after betraying his powerful crime boss father (Peter Mullan). He travels north to evade his brother (Frederick Schmidt) and takes refuge in an isolated village. The village is a small community of strict religious conformists. John grows close to a woman with a troubled past named Lea (Jessica Brown Findlay), becoming a father figure to her son Caleb (Raphael Vicas). The two must find a way to break the ties to their past and start over.

Cast

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Production

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A Sky Original film, The Hanging Sun is a U.K.-Italian co-production by Sky Studios, ITV Studios' Cattleya Producciones and Groenlandia.[1]

Release

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The first trailer for the film was released on 31 August 2022.[2] The film was chosen as the closing film of the 79th Venice International Film Festival, presented out of competition, and premiered on 10 September 2022.[3][4][5] It was theatrically released in Italy on 12 September 2022.[6]

Reception

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Anna Smith of Deadline called the film "a workable and good-looking thriller".[7]

Davide Abbatescianni of Cineuropa said "Carrozzini successfully transposes a captivating story about hate and toxic family relationships to the big screen, assembling an effective cast and lending the movie great pace."[8]

Jonathan Romney of Screen Daily called the film a "bizarre mess from start to finish", criticizing the "oddness" of the accents employed by Borghi and others. Romney praised the performances of Dance and Mullan, but criticized the casting of Vicas and lamented that Brown Findlay's role was "largely restricted to being dourly long-suffering."[9]

References

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  1. ^ Steingrimsen, Morten (23 September 2021). "Charles Dance, Peter Mullan Join Cast of Jo Nesbo Adaptation 'The Hanging Sun' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
  2. ^ "The Hanging Sun – Sole di mezzanotte, il trailer del film Sky Original". tg24.sky.it (in Italian). Retrieved 7 September 2022.
  3. ^ "Biennale Cinema 2022 | The Hanging Sun". La Biennale di Venezia. 18 July 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
  4. ^ Aspesi, Natalia (30 August 2022). "Francesco Carrozzini a Venezia con 'The hanging sun': "Un padre e un figlio, nel mio film è l'amore che salva"". la Repubblica (in Italian). Retrieved 7 September 2022.
  5. ^ "Mostra del cinema di Venezia, gli ospiti più attesi. FOTO". tg24.sky.it (in Italian). Retrieved 7 September 2022.
  6. ^ "Mostra del cinema di Venezia, presentato The Hanging Sun - Il sole di mezzanotte". tg24.sky.it (in Italian). 10 September 2022. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  7. ^ Smith, Anna (10 September 2022). "Venice Review: Francesco Carrozzini's 'The Hanging Sun'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  8. ^ Abbatescianni, Davide (10 September 2022). "Review: The Hanging Sun". Cineuropa. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  9. ^ Romney, Jonathan (10 September 2022). "'The Hanging Sun': Venice Review". Screen Daily. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
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