First Trailer for TRIPLE 9 Starring Casey Affleck

When I was putting together my most anticipated list of 2015 it was hard for me to decide between including either Triple 9 or Black Mass. Based on their similarities of being crime dramas with directors known for capturing bleak material I felt I had to choose one of them. Both also featured rather solid ensemble casts that were hard to discount. I went with Black Mass which was fortunate for my list given that film actually opened this year while director John Hillcoat's latest was actually pushed to 2016. While Black Mass didn't exactly live up to all I'd hoped it might be based purely on it's aforementioned credentials there is still hope for Triple 9 as Open Road has released the first trailer for the film today and it looks as bleak and as fantastic as one could hope. From a screenplay by newcomer Matt Cook the film follows a group of corrupt police officers who are blackmailed into pulling off a seemingly impossible heist. I really enjoyed both Lawless and The Road even if both ended up somewhat underwhelming. While Hillcoat certainly has a knack for eliciting the specific tone and style necessary for this kind of dark crime/drama it's hard to know if the director has necessarily found his own persona as a filmmaker given what we're seeing here looks closer to something that David Ayer (End of Watch, Fury) would deliver. This isn't a bad thing per se, I like Ayer's films, but I'm interested to see what Hillcoat will be able to bring to the table that differentiates himself from his contemporaries. Triple 9 stars Kate Winslet, Aaron Paul, Norman Reedus, Chiwitel Ejiofor, Casey Affleck, Anthony Mackie, Gal Gadot, Teresa Palmer, Clifton Collins Jr. and opens on February 19th.



Synopsis: Hard-nosed police Sergeant Jeffrey Allen (Woody Harrelson) has to negotiate a modern-day Atlanta overrun by crooked officers and Russian mobsters. Allen tells do-gooder rookie Chris Allen (Casey Affleck) that his job is to “out-monster the monster and get home at the end of the night.” Triple 9 promises a dark, action-packed film filled with cold-blooded murder and widespread bedlam ignited by a risky robbery orchestrated by a seedy alliance between dirty cops and the Russians — one of whom is played by Oscar winner Kate Winslet. In an attempt to pull off the tricky heist, the bad cops create a diversion by beating up Allen to generate a 999 (officer down) scenario. What they didn’t count on is Allen surviving and fighting back.