Against All Enemies (film)

''Seberg'' is a 2019 political thriller film directed by Benedict Andrews, from a screenplay by Joe Shrapnel and Anna Waterhouse based on the life of Jean Seberg. It stars Kristen Stewart, Jack O'Connell, Margaret Qualley, Zazie Beetz, Anthony Mackie, and Vince Vaughn.

It had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on August 30, 2019. It was released in the United Kingdom on January 10, 2020, by Universal Pictures and in North America on February 21, 2020, by Amazon Studios, after an awards-qualifying run on December 13, 2019.

Plot

Jean Seberg, an American actress known for playing the female lead in Jean-Luc Godard's film '' Breathless'', bids her husband, Romain Gary, and child farewell in Paris before leaving for Los Angeles. On the jet flight in first class, she witnesses a Black activist insisting on sitting in first class and offering to pay for the seats. The activist demands preferential treatment for Malcolm X's widow, claiming she should be treated like "royalty"; Seberg appears to be attracted to the passenger, who introduces himself as Hakim Jamal, a member of the Black Panther Party (BPP).

Upon landing in the U.S., Seberg notices a group of Black activists protesting at the airport, indicating their displeasure with the treatment Jamal and his traveling companions received on the flight. She joins them and raises her fist in a Black power salute in solidarity. Unbeknownst to her, undercover FBI agents, including Jack Solomon, are at the airport. Solomon suggests the FBI shadow her activities while she is in the U.S. and arranges to have her phone conversations tapped due to her perceived association with the Black Power movement.

After telling Jamal she knows the incident on the plane was staged to get her attention, Seberg begins a sexual relationship with him, despite both of them being married. The FBI's surveillance program COINTELPRO begins to target Seberg, recording her and Jamal having sex and playing it to Jamal's wife, Dorothy, over the phone.

Jamal ends things with Seberg after Dorothy confronts him, leaving Seberg devastated. She becomes increasingly suspicious, fearing her daily life is being monitored. Solomon anonymously calls Seberg to warn her to sever her ties with the movement.

Seberg becomes pregnant by an unknown person. Continuing their surveillance and harassment of her for years, COINTELPRO agents create a rumor that the baby was fathered by a member of the BPP and feed it to the media. Seberg attempts suicide, which leads to the miscarriage of her unborn daughter. The combination of her daughter's death and the FBI's smear campaign about the child's paternity send her into a deep depression.

Seberg announces she would sue the publication that published the rumor. Solomon, wanting to come clean, shows her the FBI file on her at a bar, confirming her suspicions.

After the encounter, the real-life Seberg is explained to have moved back to Paris while still supporting the BPP and died in 1979 due to a probable suicide.

Cast

Production

In March 2018, it was announced Kristen Stewart, Jack O'Connell, Anthony Mackie, Margaret Qualley and Colm Meaney had joined the cast of the film, then titled ''Against All Enemies''. Benedict Andrews would direct the film from a screenplay by Joe Shrapnel and Anna Waterhouse. Fred Berger, Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, Kate Garwood, Stephen Hopkins, Bradley Pilz, would produce the film under their Automatik and Bradley Pilz Productions banners, respectively. In April 2018, Zazie Beetz joined the cast of the film. In May 2018, Vince Vaughn, Yvan Attal and Stephen Root joined the cast of the film. In June 2018, Cornelius Smith Jr. and Jade Pettyjohn joined the cast of the film. In July 2018, Ser'Darius Blain joined the cast of the film.

Principal production started on June 30, 2018, in Los Angeles. Production concluded on August 2, 2018.

Release

Amazon Studios acquired distribution rights to ''Against All Enemies'' in February 2019. The film was retitled ''Seberg'', and had its world premiere out of competition at the Venice Film Festival on August 30, 2019. Universal Pictures distributed the film in select international territories outside of America. It also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, 2019. The film was released in the United States on December 13, 2019, in an Oscar qualifying run, before being released on February 21, 2020. and in the United Kingdom on January 10, 2020.

Reception

Critical response

On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 36% based on reviews, with an average rating of . The site's critical consensus reads, "''Seberg''s frustratingly superficial treatment of a fascinating true story does a disservice to its subject—and Kristen Stewart's performance in the central role." On Metacritic, the film holds a weighted average score of 54 out of 100, based on 28 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

''Time'''s annual best performances of the year list by Stephanie Zacharek listed Stewart as the tenth best performance of 2019.

Accolades

References

External links

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2019 films
American biographical films
British biographical films
American political thriller films
Films about the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Films shot in Los Angeles
Films set in Los Angeles
Films produced by Stephen Hopkins
Biographical films about actors
Films about Hollywood, Los Angeles
Cultural depictions of actors
Amazon MGM Studios films
Universal Pictures films
2010s biographical films
Films scored by Jed Kurzel
2010s English-language films
2010s American films
2010s British films
English-language biographical films
Films about political repression
Films about the Black Panther Party
Period pieces
English-language political thriller films