Red Rocket

Sean Baker
Part of

59th New York Film Festival

September 24 - October 10, 2021

Adding to his gallery of jet-fueled portraits of economic hardship within marginalized pockets of the U.S., director Sean Baker trains his restless camera on Mikey, a wildly narcissistic former porn star who has returned from L.A. to his depressed, postindustrial hometown of Texas City.

DIRECTOR
Sean Baker
YEAR
2021
COUNTRY
USA
RUNTIME
128 minutes

Q&A with Sean Baker, Bree Elrod, Judy Hill, Simon Rex, Brittney Rodriguez, and Suzanna Son on Sept. 29

Adding to his gallery of jet-fueled portraits of economic hardship within marginalized pockets of the U.S., director Sean Baker (The Florida Project, NYFF55) trains his restless camera on an unforgettable protagonist. Mikey, a wildly narcissistic former porn star fallen on hard times, has returned from L.A. to his depressed, postindustrial hometown of Texas City, reconnecting with his skeptical, drug-dependent estranged wife and mother-in-law, and using his wily charms to ingratiate himself into a community of people he couldn’t care less about. As played by a brilliantly cast Simon Rex (a star MTV VJ in the ’90s), Mikey is a charismatic force of nature—and destruction—who exploits the innocence and goodwill of everyone around him. Pointedly set against the backdrop of the 2016 presidential election, Red Rocket is an aptly steamed-up depiction of contemporary America as a playground for hustlers and con men. An A24 release.

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