The boundaries of friendship have been acutely explored in cinema since close to its inception, but perhaps more intimately so in the arena of mumblecore the past decade-plus. The Climb, which premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes and won the Jury Coup de Couer Prize, takes a look at such a bond between two best friends with precision, humor, and strife. Following a stop at Sundance, Michael Angelo Covino’s debut will arrive in theaters this March and now Sony Pictures Classics have debuted the new trailer.
Rory O’Connor said in his Cannes review, “In The Climb–as occasionally in life–friendship can be an uphill struggle at the best of times. So how about the worst? Michael Angelo Covino’s auspicious feature debut confronts that topic as a barometer might an oncoming storm. It’s essentially a buddy comedy, although one of the caustic variety, and built to make you squirm just a little, like Judd Apatow put through a filter of something like Festen or Force Majeure. It’s also a debut with the huevos to reach for a kind of auteur status (along with directing, Covino is credited as co-writer, co-producer, and co-star), the sort of film that leaves people talking about things like “cinematic language.”
See the trailer below for the film starring Kyle Marvin, Michael Angelo Covino, Gayle Rankin, Judith Godréche, George Wendt, Talia Balsam.
Kyle and Mike are best friends who share a close bond — until Mike sleeps with Kyle’s fiancée. The Climb is about a tumultuous but enduring relationship between two men across many years of laughter, heartbreak and rage. It is also the story of real-life best friends who turn their profound connection into a rich, humane and frequently uproarious film about the boundaries (or lack thereof) in all close friendships.
The Climb opens on March 20, 2020.