Dark Sky Paradise

Dark Sky Paradise is a 2027 American drama film directed by Paul Thomas Anderson and written by Joel and Ethan Coen. The film stars Jack Kilmer, Jessica Chastain, Michael B. Jordan, and Frankie Greenwood in his acting debut, and also features Jamie Campbell Bower, Adair Tishler, Burkely Duffield and Ryan Gosling in minor roles.

Dark Sky Paradise premiered at the 2027 Cannes Film Festival, where it received the Palme d'Or, and was released theatrically on December 31, 2027. The film received wide critical acclaim, appearing on over 100 critics' top ten lists of 2027, and it was nominated in ten categories at the 100th Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director.

Cast

 * Jack Kilmer as Skyler Madden, a 21-year-old college dropout who suffers from depression, alcoholism, as well as other drug addictions.
 * Jessica Chastain as Jennifer Madden, a widow and Skyler's mother.
 * Michael B. Jordan as Dillon Collins, a 25-year-old struggling actor and Skyler's best friend.
 * Frankie Greenwood as Luke “Amy” Madden, Skyler's 18-year-old gay brother who identifies himself as a female and, therefore, dresses as one. As a consequence of his sexual preferences, he is often bullied by some of Sklyer's friends.
 * Jamie Campbell Bower as Elias Schmitt, a 26-year-old college graduate who moves to Skyler's neighbourhood and befriends him. Several times throughout the film, he encourages Skyler to commit suicide; however, he fails to convience him.
 * Adair Tishler as Naomi Faulkner, a teenage prostitute who has sexual encounters with Skyler several times before she dies of a drug overdose.
 * Burkely Duffield as Maxwell Muller, an actor opposite Dillon on his first major play, who then meets Luke and stars dating him.
 * Ryan Gosling as Adam Schmitt, a drug dealer and Elias' father, who provides him the drugs he later sells to Skyler. When he moves to the neighbourhood he is greeted by Jennifer, who he shortly starts dating. However, she leaves him after she discovers he'd been selling drugs to her son.
 * Lucas Till as Andrew Hickman, a 24-year-old photographer and one of Skyler's closest friends.
 * Charisma Carpenter as Sam Parsons, a soon-to-retire detective who used to work with Jennifer's husband, and Jennifer's closest friend.
 * Josh Bowman as Mike Bentley, a lieutenant who supervises the narcotics department and is in charge of finding and arresting Adam Schmitt.
 * Robert De Niro as Howard Lynn, Jennifer's father, a retired lawyer who lives on his own in Montana. He makes a brief appearance when he is visited by Jennifer, who asks for help on how to move on with her life.

Critical response
Upon its premiere at the 2027 Cannes Film Festival, Dark Sky Paradise received universal acclaim by critics and audiences, who particularly praised its acting, screenplay and direction. It currently holds a 98% "certified fresh" rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes based on 247 reviews, as well as a score of 95 on Metacritic based on 89 reviews.

Despite receiving some criticism for the casting of a non-transgender actor to portray trans character Amy Madden, Greenwood's portrayal of Amy was critically lauded and earned him the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor as well as several other film critics' circle awards. In addition, the chemistry between Greenwood and Kilmer, who play siblings Amy and Skyler, received critical acclaim.

Accolades
Dark Sky Paradise was nominated for ten Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Directing and Best Original Screenplay. Kilmer and Greenwood won the awards for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor, while Chastain received a nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Newton Howard won the awards for Best Original Score and Best Original Song with "Goodness Gracious", while Deakins received the Oscar for Best Cinematography, and Jones and Tichenor were nominated for Best Film Editing.