Willem Dafoe is Ed Saxberger, a forgotten New York poet who works in the post office. After an eager and flattering young admirer 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.
Late Fame has the feel of something from an earlier NYC art scene. This loose, hangdog-hangout film might not be quite as mannered as Jim Jarmusch, but has something of Tom DiCillo or Hal Hartley. Saxberger, a would be Frank O’Hara or Charles Bukowski (he works at the post office), finds himself ‘re-discovered’ by a precocious group of Soho rich kids: picture Whit Stillman’s ‘haut bourgeoisie’ if they read more William Carlos Williams.
Director: Kent Jones
Starring: Willem Dafoe, Greta Lee & Edmund Donovan
Year: 2026
Language: In English
Country: USA
Running time: 1hr 36mins