The Death & Life of John F. Donovan

2019 123 min ★ 6.9 Drama

A decade after the death of an American TV star, a young actor reminisces about the written correspondence he once shared with the former, as well as the impact those letters had on both their lives.

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Cast

Kit Harington

John F. Donovan

Natalie Portman

Sam Turner

Jacob Tremblay

Rupert Turner

Susan Sarandon

Grace Donovan

Kathy Bates

Barbara Haggermaker

Ben Schnetzer

Rupert Turner (21 y.o.)

Thandiwe Newton

Journalist

Jared Keeso

James Donovan

Chris Zylka

Will Jefford Jr.

Amara Karan

Miss Kureshi

Details

Director

Xavier Dolan

Status

Released

Original Language

EN

Budget

$35,000,000

Revenue

$3,326,364

Production

Sons of Manual, Lyla Films, Warp Films

Reviews

C

cityguide

September 5, 2018

Perhaps best known as the film that Jessica Chastain’s role was cut from, Xavier Dolan’s upcoming drama is still plenty star-studded, featuring a cast that includes Natalie Portman, Jacob Tremblay, Thandie Newton, Susan Sarandon, and Kit Harington. Though little is truly known about the project — only a single 17-second teaser trailer has been released — it’s described as a reminiscence on the lif...

S

SWITCH.

May 13, 2020

★ 7/10

You can see Xavier Dolan reaching for something grand with this film, a bigger story than he has ever attempted before and even more romantic questions of identity and self, but while one of the problems of 'The Death and Life of John F. Donovan' is that there are <i>too</i> many questions being asked, it doesn't mean that any of them aren't worth asking. This is still a Xavier Dolan film, and for...