In “The Instigators,” Matt Damon plays Rory, a dad desperate to do anything for his son when he teams up with an ex-con (Casey Affleck) to rob a corrupt politician in the Apple Original Films production. The movie reteams Damon with his “Bourne Identity” director Doug Liman, was cowritten by Affleck and will be released in select theaters on Aug. 2 and made widely available for Apple TV+ subscribers on Aug. 9.
In the trailer released Thursday, Damon’s character is shown learning the ropes of being a criminal. He explains to his therapist (Hong Chau) that he’s unable to look his son in the eye due to a combination of financial struggles that include his mortgage and back child support. After she asks if he’s tried everything to make things right, he pauses and says, “Not everything.”
He then connects with ex-con Affleck’s character Cobby, who leds the operation against a corrupt mayoral candidate. It’s clear throughout that Rory isn’t exactly familiar with criminal life, and at one point he asks what to do if “I’m giving instructions and they’re not doing them.”
The answer? “Just say, ‘I have a gun!’”
The official synopsis from Apple reads, “Rory (Matt Damon) and Cobby (Casey Affleck) are reluctant partners: a desperate father and an ex-con thrown together to pull off a robbery of the ill-gained earnings of a corrupt politician. But when the heist goes wrong, the two find themselves engulfed in a whirlwind of chaos, pursued not only by police, but also backwards bureaucrats and vengeful crime bosses.”
“Completely out of their depth, they convince Rory’s therapist (Hong Chau) to join their riotous getaway through the city, where they must put aside their differences and work together to evade capture — or worse.”
Michael Stuhlbarg, Paul Walter Hauser, Ving Rhames, Alfred Molina, Toby Jones, Jack Harlow and Ron Perlman also star in the film. Affleck and Chuck MacLean served as the movie’s cowriters.
