''The Ticket'' is a 2016 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by Ido Fluk and written by Ido Fluk and Sharon Mashihi. The film stars

Malin Åkerman Malin Maria Åkerman (born 12 May 1978) is a Swedish actress. In the early 2000s, she had several small television and film parts in both Canadian and American productions, including ''The Utopian Society'' (2003) and ''Harold & Kumar Go to Whi ...

Dan Stevens Daniel Jonathan Stevens (born 10 October 1982) is a British actor and writer. He first drew international attention for his role as Matthew Crawley in the ITV acclaimed period drama series ''Downton Abbey'' (2010–2012). He also starred as D ...

Kerry Bishé Kerry Lynne Bishé (born May 1, 1984) is a New Zealand-born American actress, known for her lead role as Donna Clark in the AMC television series '' Halt and Catch Fire''. Bishé played the lead/narrator role in the final season of the ABC medica ...

Oliver Platt Oliver Platt (born January 12, 1960) is a Canadian-born American actor. He is known for his starring roles in many films such as ''Flatliners'' (1990), ''Beethoven'' (1992), ''Indecent Proposal'', ''The Three Musketeers'' (both 1993), ''Executiv ...

, Liza J. Bennett, and Skylar Gaertner. The film had its world premiere at the

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by TriBeCa Productions, Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive progra ...

on April 16, 2016, and was released on April 7, 2017, by

Shout! Factory Shout! Factory is an American home video and music company founded in 2002 as Retropolis Entertainment. Its video releases include previously released feature films, classic and contemporary television series, animation, live music, and comedy ...

Plot

James, who has been blind from youth, lives a contented life with his wife Sam and son Jonah. One day he regains his vision and discovers that an inoperable pituitary tumor that had been pressing on his optic nerves since he was a teenager has miraculously shrunk. Giddy with happiness, James and Sam make plans for their future. However, James finds himself becoming metaphorically blinded by his obsession for the superficial in his pursuit of success.

Cast

as Sam *

as James *

as Jessica *

as Bob *Liza J. Bennett as Grace *Skylar Gaertner as Jonah *

Peter Mark Kendall Peter Mark Kendall (born May 11, 1986) is an American actor with a career in stage, film and television. He is known for playing the role of Hans in FX's ''The Americans'' and Richard Onsted in CBS '' Strange Angel''. Education Kendall received a ...

as Arnold Dixon * Ekaterina Samsonov as Carla

Production

In August 2014,

and

joined the cast of the film, with Ido Fluk directing the film from a screenplay by him and Sharon Mashihi,

Oren Moverman Oren Moverman ( he, אורן מוברמן; born July 4, 1966) is an Israeli-American Academy Award-nominated screenwriter, film director, and Emmy Award-winning film producer. He has directed the films ''The Messenger (2009 film), The Messenger ...

and Lawrence Inglee serving as producers, while

Dale Brown Dale Brown (born 2 November 1956) is an American writer and aviator known for aviation techno-thriller novels. At least thirteen of his novels have been ''New York Times'' Best Sellers. Early life Brown was born in Buffalo, New York, and w ...

, Nick Byasse, and Katie Heidy will serve as executive producers under their Cave Films, Initiate, and Liberty Liquid Films banners, respectively. That same month,

and

joined the cast of the film.

Release

The film premiered at the

on April 16, 2016. Shortly after,

acquired U.S distribution rights to the film. The film was released in a

limited release __FORCETOC__ Limited theatrical release is a film distribution strategy of releasing a new film in a few theaters across a country, typically art house theaters in major metropolitan markets. Since 1994, a limited theatrical release in the Unite ...

and through

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 ...

on April 7, 2017.

Reception

The film received a mixed reception, with critics praising the acting and certain cinematic elements but lamenting the slow pace and predictability of the plot. Jon Frosch 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 ...

'' noted that "Fluk's compositions are at once chilly and sensual, with a European art cinema buff's attention to bodies, and there are lovely moments throughout" and praised Stevens' portrayal of the lead character but commented that "once you see where the movie's going it's a bit of a slog". Nigel M. Smith of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' gave the film three stars out of five: "Admirably cynical until it loses its way in the final stretch, ''The Ticket'' nevertheless maintains a provocative allure, bolstered by a fiercely committed performance from Dan Stevens."

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ticket 2016 films 2016 drama films American drama films American independent films 2016 independent films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films English-language drama films