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Late Fame

Play trailer Late Fame 2025 1h 36m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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82% Tomatometer 22 Reviews Popcornmeter 0 Ratings
Ed Saxberger, a forgotten New York poet, works in the post office. After an eager and flattering young admirer appears on his doorstep, Saxberger is beckoned into a coterie of twentysomething admirers who anoint him as a rediscovered genius. Intoxicated by the attention -- and by the alluring presence of Gloria, the group’s “tragic heroine” -- Saxberger gradually reckons with the authenticity of his newfound poetic circle. This thoughtful, witty film is a wistful yet unromantic look at a lost idea of downtown New York.

Critics Reviews

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Zachary Barnes Wall Street Journal It’s based on a novel written in the 1890s by the Austrian writer Arthur Schnitzler, and the adaptation’s transposition of time and place comes off as anachronistic and unconvincing Oct 16, 2025 Full Review Jourdain Searles RogerEbert.com The classic theatricality of its characters juxtaposed with the modern world gives 'Late Fame' the feeling of a eulogy for an artistic world that young idealists desperately want to revive. Oct 9, 2025 Full Review Marshall Shaffer Slant Magazine Its desire to resist easy storytelling paradigms around artists is admirable, but without punching up or down, the film feels like it’s pulling punches altogether. Rated: 2/4 Sep 7, 2025 Full Review Ryan Swen Taipei Mansions Late Fame is, above all else, an often thrillingly imperfect film, one more open to the possibilities of total failure than Jones’s last film. Oct 15, 2025 Full Review Carla Hay Culture Mix The witty drama Late Fame gives amusingly accurate observations about the pretensions of ambitious artists. Willem Dafoe exquisitely plays a disillusioned poet who is plucked from obscurity for an agenda-driven comeback. Oct 11, 2025 Full Review Erik Anderson AwardsWatch Samy Burch’s script skewers New York ne’er-do-wells and wannabe artists, rich kid poseurs and more, perfectly embodied by Edmund Donovan and his band of merry men. Rated: B+ Oct 8, 2025 Full Review Read all reviews

Cast & Crew

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Kent Jones

Director

Willem Dafoe

Actor

Greta Lee

Actor

Edmund Donovan

Actor

Samy Burch

Screenwriter

Pamela Koffler

Producer
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Late Fame

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Movie Info

Synopsis Ed Saxberger, a forgotten New York poet, works in the post office. After an eager and flattering young admirer appears on his doorstep, Saxberger is beckoned into a coterie of twentysomething admirers who anoint him as a rediscovered genius. Intoxicated by the attention -- and by the alluring presence of Gloria, the group’s “tragic heroine” -- Saxberger gradually reckons with the authenticity of his newfound poetic circle. This thoughtful, witty film is a wistful yet unromantic look at a lost idea of downtown New York.
Director
Kent Jones
Producer
Pamela Koffler, Mason Plotts, Christine Vachon, Danny Roberts, H.S. Naji, Jackie Langelier
Screenwriter
Samy Burch
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Runtime
1h 36m