One could quite easily argue that Hollywood has continued to do well since former A-list actor Kevin Spacey more or less dropped off the card following multiple allegations of sexual harassment and assault in 2017. which sadly led to the actor being replaced by Chris. Plummer in the likes of All the money in the world. Spacey was understandably condemned by the entertainment world at the time, and while none of the allegations ever led to criminal convictions, the actor’s subsequent announcement of his gay sexual orientation only did further anger industry watchers and LGBTQ rights activists, who accused him of trying to use his exit announcement to deflect further controversy and legal peril. In particular, the line “I now choose to live as a gay man” was roundly mocked, and Spacey subsequently all but disappeared from the film world.
Now, however, it looks like the 62-year-old actor thinks enough time has passed that he could reasonably make a comeback. He appears in several films which will be exhibited at various festivals in the near future, looking for buyers, including historical dramas 1242 – Gate to the Westand director Franco Nero The man who drew God. The first to reveal footage, however, is an action thriller Peter Five Eight, to whom we can only say: Whoa. This trailer doesn’t just look “bad” in a subjective sense, as a result of Spacey’s controversial participation. Nope, it looks hilariously amateurish, similar to the kind of “geezer teaser” films released over the past decade by Bruce Willis and Steven Seagal. But with these movies, “A-list” talent usually only shows up for a few scenes – Spacey, on the other hand, is the undisputed star of Peter Five Eightand he looks and sounds like he’s completely forgotten how to ply his trade since 2017.
Hell, even the official synopsis seems to have been written in another language and then roughly transcribed into English:
Sam, (Jet Jandreau), a seemingly poised and glamorous real estate agent in a small mountain community, is revealed to be an unhinged and troubled alcoholic with a dark secret, when a charismatic man named Peter (Kevin Spacey) shows up one day in town. While trying to save her life from falling apart, an older co-worker named Brenda (Rebecca De Mornay) is targeted by Peter for information at the behest of her powerful and shadowy boss, Mr. Lock. Nothing will be the same in this small town.
The trailer, meanwhile, looks just as mundane and uninspired as the description above might suggest. There are shots here – that of Spacey sitting “menacingly” in the kitchen of a woman in a trench coat and black fedora – that are unintentionally funny, so devoid of the atmosphere they are meant to evoke that they become a sort of avant-garde comedy. In the meantime, the idea of this 62-year-old man as a suave hitman, decked out in a terrible wig intended to make him look at least 15 years younger, is just as difficult to accept. Everything here looks clearly amateurish, even when you can’t put your finger on what’s wrong.
Peter Five Eight is head to the Cannes film market, where it will be fascinating to see who dares to pick it up. In the meantime, you can enjoy the embarrassing trailer below and reflect on how Kevin Spacey seemingly managed to completely lose his acting ability over the past five years.
