''Landscape with Invisible Hand'' is a 2023 American

science fiction film Science fiction (or sci-fi) is a film genre that uses speculative, fictional science-based depictions of phenomena that are not fully accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial lifeforms, spacecraft, robots, cyborgs, interstellar ...

written for the screen and directed by

Cory Finley Cory Finley is an American screenwriter, playwright, and director. Finley wrote and directed the black comedy film ''Thoroughbreds,'' which premiered at Sundance Film Festival in 2017. He also directed the true crime dramedy film '' Bad Educati ...

, based on the 2017 novel of the same name by

M. T. Anderson Matthew Tobin Anderson (born November 4, 1968), is an American writer of children's books that range from picture books to young adult novels. He won the National Book Award for Young People's Literature in 2006 for '' The Pox Party'', the first o ...

. The film stars

Asante Blackk Asante Duah Ma'at (born October 20, 2001) known professionally as Asante Blackk, is an American actor. He is best known for his role in the miniseries ''When They See Us'' (2019), for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination. He has be ...

, Kylie Rogers, and Tiffany Haddish. ''Landscape with Invisible Hand'' premiered at the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...

on January 23, 2023, and was released in the United States by

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...

on August 18, 2023.

Premise

In a near-future in which an alien species known as the Vuvv has taken over Earth, an aspiring teenage artist and his girlfriend hatch a scheme to make money by broadcasting their dating life to the fascinated aliens in the wake of the Vuvv's labour-saving technology. But the two teens slowly come to hate each other, and cannot break up without bankrupting their families.

Cast

as Adam Campbell * Kylie Rogers as Chloe Marsh * Tiffany Haddish as Beth Campbell * William Jackson Harper as Mr. Campbell * Brooklynn MacKinzie as Natalie Campbell * Josh Hamilton as Mr. Marsh *

Michael Gandolfini Michael Gandolfini (born May 10, 1999) is an American actor. Gandolfini made his film debut in ''Ocean's 8'' (2018) and appeared in ''The Many Saints of Newark'' (2021), in which he played the role of Tony Soprano, which was originally portrayed ...

as Hunter Marsh * John Newberg as Mr. Stanley * Tony Vogel as Brett * Christian Adam as Zach

Production

On November 14, 2017, it was announced that Plan B Entertainment had optioned the

film adaptation A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dial ...

rights to

's recently published novel ''Landscape with Invisible Hand''. Annapurna Pictures was set to co-produce the film under Plan B's three-year overall deal with the company. There were no further developments on the project until December 18, 2020, when it was announced that Plan B had signed a second-look film deal with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, who was set to produce the film as well as distribute it through

United Artists Releasing United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studio ...

, and

was attached to adapt the screenplay and direct the film. On January 4, 2021, Tiffany Haddish was cast in a main role. On June 28, 2021,

was cast in the lead role. Kylie Rogers joined the main cast on September 20, 2021. In February 2022, it was reported that

Clifton Collins Jr. Clifton Craig Collins Jr. is an American actor. After starting in 1990, with small roles in film and on television, Collins gained attention for his performance as Cpl. Ramon Aguilar, a prisoner "serving" under an imprisoned general played by Ro ...

, Josh Hamilton and Brooklynn MacKinzie were added to the cast.

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...

began on February 1, 2022, in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, and wrapped there on March 27, 2022.

Release

''Landscape with Invisible Hand'' had its world premiere at the

2023 Sundance Film Festival The 2023 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 19 to 29, 2023. The first lineup of competition films was announced on December 7, 2022. Films U.S. Dramatic Competition * ''The Accidental Getaway Driver'', directed by Sing J. Lee * ...

. During the post-screening discussion, an audience member criticized the studio-backed film's appearance at the independent film festival, leading Haddish to defend the producers and Sundance's programmers. The film was released theatrically by

on August 18, 2023.

Reception

References

External links

* {{Portal bar, Film, United States, Speculative fiction, Science fiction, Comedy 2023 romantic comedy-drama films 2023 science fiction films 2020s American films 2020s English-language films 2020s science fiction comedy-drama films 2020s teen comedy-drama films 2020s teen romance films Alien invasions in films American romantic comedy-drama films American science fiction comedy-drama films American science fiction romance films American teen comedy-drama films American teen romance films Annapurna Pictures films Films about financial crises Films based on American novels Films based on science fiction novels Films directed by Cory Finley Films produced by Megan Ellison Films scored by Michael Abels Films set in the future Films shot in Atlanta Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Plan B Entertainment films Teen science fiction films