''Above the Shadows'' is a 2019 supernatural

romance Romance (from Vulgar Latin , "in the Roman language", i.e., "Latin") may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings * Romance languages, ...

film written and directed by

Claudia Myers Claudia Myers is an American screenwriter, director and producer. In addition, she is an Associate Professor of Film and Media at American University's School of Communication. Early life Myers received an M.F.A from Columbia University's Sch ...

. The film stars

Olivia Thirlby Olivia Jo Thirlby (born October 6, 1986) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Leah in the comedy-drama film ''Juno'' (2007),Louie, Rebecca (June 28, 2008).Olivia Thirlby is smoking in 'The Wackness'". '' Daily News, location ...

Alan Ritchson Alan Michael Ritchson (born November 28, 1982) is an American actor, model, singer and songwriter. He made his acting debut as Aquaman / Arthur Curry on The CW superhero series ''Smallville'' (2005–2010), where he appeared as a guest star betw ...

Jim Gaffigan James Christopher Gaffigan (born July 7, 1966) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer. His material often addresses fatherhood, laziness, food, religion, and general observations. He is regarded as a "clean" comic, using l ...

Maria Dizzia Maria Teresa Dizzia (born December 29, 1974) is an American actress. Dizzia was nominated for the 2010 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play for her performance in ''In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play)''. Early life ...

Tito Ortiz Jacob Christopher "Tito" Ortiz (; born January 23, 1975) is an American mixed martial artist and politician. He is currently signed to the Combate Americas promotion. Ortiz is best known for his stints with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UF ...

David Johansen David Roger Johansen (sometimes spelled ''David Jo Hansen''; born January 9, 1950) is an American singer, songwriter and actor. He is best known as a member of the seminal proto-punk band the New York Dolls. He is also known for his work under ...

, and

Megan Fox Megan Denise Fox (born May 16, 1986) is an American actress. She made her acting debut in the family film '' Holiday in the Sun'' (2001), which was followed by numerous supporting roles in film and television, such as the teen musical comedy ...

. It had its world premiere at the

Brooklyn Film Festival The Brooklyn Film Festival (BFF), prior to 2011 called the Brooklyn International Film Festival (BiFF) is an independent film festival held every June in Brooklyn, New York. Started by Marco Ursino, Susan Mackell, Abe Schrager, and Mario Pegoraro ...

on May 31, 2019, and was released to

video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of o ...

and select theaters on July 19, 2019, by

Gravitas Ventures Gravitas Ventures is an independent film distribution company owned by Anthem Sports and Entertainment. The company was founded by Nolan Gallagher in Los Angeles, California in 2006 and moved its headquarters to Cleveland, Ohio in 2019, where it f ...

Premise

A young woman (

) has faded from the world to the point of becoming invisible. After more than a decade existing in the shadows, Holly meets the one man who can see her, Shayne Blackwell (

), a disgraced

MMA Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

fighter. Holly discovers that it was one of her tabloid photographs that caused his downfall, and that she must restore him to his former glory if she wants to regain a foothold in the world around her. With Shayne, Holly awakens to love but also to the possibility that she may remain invisible forever.

Cast

as Holly ** Fina Strazza as Young Holly *

as Shayne *

as Paul Jederman *

as Victoria Jederman *

as Attila *

as Ron *

as Juliana *

Justine Cotsonas Justine Cotsonas (born May 31, 1985) is an American actress. She was born in Mineola, New York. Cotsonas attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, where she earned a BFA degree in January 2007. She joined the cast of ''As the Worl ...

as Vanessa ** Lauren Hartman as Young Vanessa * Owen Campbell as Troy ** Alex Gemeinhardt as Young Troy *

Pawel Szajda Pawel B. Szajda ( pl, Paweł Szajda ; born January 13, 1982) is an American screen and stage actor. He is best known for his roles in '' Under the Tuscan Sun'', ''Generation Kill'', '' Tatarak,'' and as Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Poletov in the thi ...

as Marjus * Patricia Pinto as Dancer * Taylor Selé as Tommy Bones * Thomas Canestraro as Carlos Suarez * Kareem Savinon as Brandon * R. Marcos Taylor as Khan * Laura Heywood as Reporter #2

Production

The film is based on an original script written by director Claudia Myers. On November 1, 2017, it was announced that

, and

were set to star in the film, which, at the time, was under the name ''Shadow Girl''. ''Above the Shadows'' was produced by Tony Award-nominated company, HIPZEE, in association with Myriad Pictures, Boundary Stone Films, and BondIt Media Capital.

Release

''Above the Shadows'' premiered at the 22nd

(BFF) on May 31, 2019. It won the BFF Audience Choice Award for Narrative Feature. In May 2019,

acquired U.S. distribution rights to the film and set for a July 19, 2019, release.

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

the film has an approval rating of based on reviews from critics. Courtney Howard of

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

wrote: "This magical-realist fairy tale, about a young woman feeling so isolated and insignificant after a tragic loss that she’s literally invisible to everyone except one other struggling soul, is certainly imaginative and intelligent in its ideas. However, the savvy smarts within don’t quite sustain the running time and, much like its protagonist, the film becomes transparent in its motives and sentimentality." John DeFore of

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

wrote: "Though it may be amusing to watch Holly sneak around and expose others' lies, it would be much more fun if her own story rang true." Noel Murray of the

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

wrote: "Thirlby gives a good performance as someone who finds it easier to remain a non-person than to make any effort to fix her life. But the more Holly comes into view, the blander her character becomes."

References

External links

Official Site
* * {{Allmovie title, 717881, Above the Shadows 2019 films 2010s romance films Films set in New York (state) American supernatural romance films 2010s supernatural films Mixed martial arts films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films