Tanner Hall is one of those movies that’s been sitting on a shelf somewhere, waiting for its lead actors to get famous. When it screened at the Toronto International Film Festival back in 2009, its stars, Rooney Mara and Brie Larson, were promising young unknown actresses. Now, almost 2 years later, both are on their way to becoming household names.
Mara broke out in The Social Network last year, where she made such an impression on David Fincher that the director cast her as the lead in his upcoming The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, which, if book sales are any indication, is destined to sell loads of tickets here in the States. Meanwhile, Larson has been in Greenberg and Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, is a regular on The United States of Tara, and has Rampart and 21 Jump Street to look forward to.
With Tanner Hall‘s leads so hot right now, it’s easy to see why Anchor Bay picked up the rights to it at Sundance this year. The film’s plot alone certainly isn’t anything to get excited about.
Directed by Francesca Gregorini (who is set to reunite with Mara in the as-yet unfilmed Emanuel and the Truth About Fishes), Tanner Hall is set in a boarding school in New England boarding school where four teenage girls come of age during their senior year. An expanded synopsis doesn’t make the narrative sound any less familiar:
As Fernanda (Mara) enters her senior year at Tanner Hall—a sheltered boarding school in New England—she’s faced with unexpected changes in her group of friends when a childhood acquaintance, the charismatic yet manipulative trouble-maker Victoria (Georgia King), appears. Shy and studious, Fernanda is usually the voice of reason among her friends—adventurous and sexy Kate (Larsen) and tomboy Lucasta (Amy Ferguson)—but when she begins a complicated friendship with Gio (Tom Everett Scott), an older family friend, she decides it’s finally time to take some risks. Jealous of Fernanda’s exciting relationship, Victoria begins to sabotage Fernanda’s plans and plots to publicly humiliate her. Meanwhile, Lucasta struggles with her newfound feelings towards another classmate, and mischievous Kate is too preoccupied with making her teachers nervous to pay much attention to her actual classes. However, as each of the girls flirt with adulthood, they realize they still need each other to help get through their first grown-up decisions—and the consequences they bring.
Check out the official poster and some stills from Tanner Hall below via The Playlist. Click for higher resolution.
Tanner Hall is set to open in limited release on September 9. Check the film’s official website for future updates on screening information.