In Miranda July’s “Kajillionaire,” Evan Rachel Wood dons a gruff, monotone accent and plays a con artist who from birth has been taught by her parents to steal, swindle and scam, but not much else.
She’s the anchor to July’s latest offbeat, indie gem, which Focus Features picked up out of Sundance this year and morphs into a profound and original comedy and coming of age story.
“Most people want to be kajillionaires. That’s how they get you hooked. Hooked on sugar, hooked on caffeine, ha ha ha! Cry cry cry! Me, I prefer to just skip,” Richard Jenkins says in the first trailer for the film.
Wood stars in “Kajillionaire” as Old Dolio, who has been brought up by her parents, played by Debra Winger and Richard Jenkins, to live out their con artist lifestyle. Jenkins even explains that she learned to forge signatures before she learned to write…or that is how she learned to write. But things change when they charm a stranger played by Gina Rodriguez into joining their next heist. Rodriguez ends up turning Old Dolio’s world upside down as she learns to live for herself.
“Kajillionaire” is July’s third feature, her first since “The Future” in 2011 and “Me and You and Everyone We Know” before that. The film won acclaim out of Sundance and was also chosen as part of this year’s Cannes Director’s Fortnight. The producers are Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner and Youree Henley.
Focus Features is now releasing the film in theaters on Sept. 18, 2020. Check out some new images from the film below, and watch the first trailer above.
