True-life tale The Bang Bang Club might have some snickering at that suggestive title, but the subject is deadly serious: it follows four young, driven combat photographers capturing the brutal death spasms of Apartheid in South Africa. And now the trailer has arrived online, which you can watch below.
We’re introduced to Greg Marinovich (Ryan Phillippe), Joao Silva (Neels Van Jaarsveld), Kevin Carter (Taylor Kitsch) and Ken Oosterbroek (Frank Rautenbach), the four camera handlers who share a calling documenting the more violent side of life. As they struggle with the consciences watching people get killed and humanity tearing itself apart, it begins to have a real effect on them, particularly Marinovich.
And then there’s Robin Comley (Malin Akerman), the editor who tries to keep them in line, yet who finds herself falling for Marinovich.
It’s taken a while for Steven Silver’s film to find distribution (it finished shooting in 2009), and has had some mixed reviews from festival audiences and critics. While there are some serious concerns about slipping into preachy, cookie-cutter drama about morals, ethics and the leading man naturally finding someone he can fall for/argue with, we’re hoping for solid performances from the leads.
The Bang Bang Club is out in the US on April 22, but there’s no set date for the UK yet.