Luc Besson‘s Malavita has been retitled The Family and scheduled for a September 20 release by Relativity who’ve just premiered the first two pictures from the film featuring stars Robert De Niro and Michelle Pfeiffer.
The film is described as a darkly comedic action film from telling the story of the Manzonis, a notorious mafia family who gets relocated to Normandy, France under the witness protection program. While they do their best to fit in, old habits die hard and they soon find themselves handling things the “family” way. Tommy Lee Jones and Dianna Agron co-star.
At one point this was looking like a possible Cannes entry and now, with a late September release date, a Toronto premiere seems more likely.
I guess the bigger question is whether or not Besson can deliver a film that might garner Academy attention. His 2011 film The Lady didn’t even garner a ripple. Can this one rise above the image Besson has created for himself, which is to say a producer of B-level, glossy actioners such as Taken and the Transporter franchise?
