film

A perfectly cast Willem Dafoe stars here as Ed Saxberger, a quiet New York postal worker who once published a slim volume of poetry that passed almost unnoticed at the time of its publication. Decades later, a group of young artists rediscovers the book and declare Ed a neglected literary genius. Saxberger is drawn into their bohemian circle, which includes an intense actress played by Greta Lee, and starts to enjoy the attention and renewed sense of purpose that fame brings.

The admiration has its downsides too, however, and Ed is forced to question the authenticity of both his admirers and his own deferred ambitions. Adapted from a novella by Arthur Schnitzler, Late Fame stands out for its intimate, observant storytelling, which is rich in nuance about art, literature and late-blooming creativity.