“The poetry of this movie, in short, is in Dafoe, who gives his finest performance in years — a long trek from bliss to despair to disillusionment, and finally to the odd contentment and consolation that disillusionment often brings.”
—Justin Chang, The New Yorker

“A loving and lovely sensibility runs through LATE FAME, a fond and wise understanding of why some people want to become artists without making much art and why other people quit making it altogether. “
—Alissa Wilkinson, The New York Times (Critic’s Pick)

The great Willem Dafoe lends his delicate gravitas to the role of Ed Saxberger, a forgotten New York poet who works in the post office. After an eager and flattering young admirer (Edmund Donovan) appears on his doorstep, Saxberger is beckoned into a coterie of twentysomething admirers who anoint him as a rediscovered genius. Intoxicated by the attention and by the alluring presence of Gloria, the group’s “tragic heroine” (a sinuous, Kurt Weill-crooning Greta Lee), Saxberger gradually reckons with the authenticity of his newfound poetic circle. This thoughtful, witty second feature from Kent Jones (DIANE), working from a sly and hugely entertaining script by Oscar-nominated screenwriter Samy Burch (MAY DECEMBER), is a wistful yet unromantic look at a lost idea of downtown New York.