The first trailer for Causeway, starring Jennifer Lawrence and Brian Tyree Henry as two people connected by pain, has been released by Apple and A24.
The Oscar winner plays Lynsey, a military engineer who has just returned from Afghanistan with a crippling brain injury, in the film, which is directed for the first time by Lila Neugebauer (Maid, The Last Thing He Told Me, The Waverly Gallery on Broadway). The actor who starred in Bullet Train and Atlanta portrays James, a stranger who offers to drive her home while secretly hiding his pain. As they offer consolation to one another on their path to recovery, the two start to seek each other out.
On November 4, the movie will be available worldwide on Apple TV+ and in some cinemas.
Lawrence was most recently featured in Adam McKay’s Netflix film Don’t Look Up. For Apple’s Bad Blood, Lawrence will reteam with McKay to play disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes. Her most recent significant theatrical release was 2019’s X-Men: Dark Phoenix.
Lawrence’s character Lynsey in Causeway experiences a difficult and prolonged rehabilitation from an injury incurred in an IED blast. She must confront memories that are much more agonizing and profound than those she experienced while serving: a confrontation with her early years—when she returns to her native New Orleans. The beginning of their friendship when she meets James is at the center of Neugebauer’s first film, which has been called “a quiet but tragic, and eventually hopeful drama about coming to grips and going forward.”
Additionally, Causeway is the debut movie from Lawrence’s production business Excellent Cadaver. The movie’s production started in 2019, was interrupted by the pandemic, and then resumed in 2021. The Winter’s Bone actress explained why she accepted the role in a recent Vogue profile, saying, “I think I connected with that at that specific time in my life. She can’t commit to anything because of these massive internal ailments that are entirely unseen. Her home is unlivable. I wasn’t aware of how much was going on with me at the moment. Until I returned, pregnant, married, and successful. I simply thought, “Oh, she is a lady who is afraid to commit.
David Rooney, the head film reviewer for THR, praised the connection between the two in his assessment of the movie, which had its global debut at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival.
In his review, he said, “It’s a delight to watch Lawrence return to her indie roots, especially after Henry’s presence inspires her to improve her game. Causeway represented Lawrence’s first new project after stating she was taking a sabbatical for a year.” “Since his unforgettable single scene in If Beale Street Could Talk, he goes deep in ways we haven’t seen much of from him. This little drama about battered individuals lowering their guard just enough to seek comfort is enhanced by the connection between these two superb performers, each of whom is fairly unique in style.
Ottessa Moshfegh, Luke Goebel, and Elizabeth Sanders wrote Causeway, which Lawrence and Justine Ciarrocchi also produced. Neugebauer, Sophia Lin, Jacob Jaffke, Patricia Clarkson, and Kirk’s Executive producers include Michael Fellows and Christopher J. Surgent.