Dreamin’ Wild – Release News
Casey Affleck, Noah Jupe & Walton Goggins give stellar performances in an incredible true story of what happens when a singer-songwriter’s
childhood dream suddenly becomes a reality…30 years later
Starring
Casey Affleck (Manchester By the Sea, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Oppenheimer), Walton Goggins (The White Lotus, The Hateful Eight, Django Unchained) Noah Jupe (A Quiet Place, Ford v Ferrari, Honey Boy), Zooey Deschanel (New Girl, 500 Days of Summer, Elf), Jack Dylan Grazer (Shazam!, It) Beau Bridges (The Fabulous Baker Boys, My Name is Earl)
That Pohlad and his actors—all of them wonderful, among the best ensemble of performers we’re likely to see all year—pull off is a rich and often deeply moving meditation on what music can mean in a life. It can break dreams, but it can also mend them…. the essence of the teenage rock ’n’ roll dream fulfilled, better late than never’
Time Magazine
‘Performances are finely tuned, authentic and intimate. We are right there in the cabin recording studio. Its sweet, simmering and sometimes withholding nature provides intimacy, strangely’
What She Said
‘Quiet and understated… a drama that forgoes the usual music biopic story arc for a story more sensitive to the afterimages that last in our minds, sometimes for decades after the music has stopped’
Decider
‘If you want a feel-good film with some good music and terrific acting and directing then I would recommend you check out Dreamin’ Wild’
Flick Direct
Featuring a stellar all-star cast including Casey Affleck, Noah Jupe, Walton Goggins and Zooey Deschanel, the critically acclaimed Dreamin’ Wild from lauded directorBill Pohlad (Love and Mercy), tells the incredible and poignant true story of what happens when a childhood dream suddenly becomes a reality… 30 years later.
Based on writer Steven Kurutz’s article Fruitland, the filmtells the remarkable story of the Emmerson family’s long road to musical success and is set for its UK debut this April courtesy of 101 Films.
Growing up in in rural Washington in the 1970s, teenager Donnie Emerson dreamt of nothing else than being a singer-songwriter and making it in the music world, it was all he knew and all he ever wanted to do.
In a band with his brother Joe, they gave it their all, and with grit and determination they managed to make an album, but with rising debt and nothing but disappointment, it broke their family apart…
Then Donnie’s dream of success suddenly – and unexpectedly – came true… as he approached 50 years old. One phone call changed everything… But while it brought the hope of second chances, it also brought ghosts of the past and long buried emotions as the brothers, and their entire family, had to come to terms with their new-found fame.
Casey Affleck and Walton Goggins give stand out performances as brothers Donnie and Joe Emerson in their later years, with Noah Jupe and Jack Dylan Grazer playing the siblings in their teens, as we’re taken on their musical journey from obscurity to stardom.
Dreamin’ Wild shows that dreams really can come true… but sometimes there’s a price to pay in this compelling story of love, hope, family, guilt, responsibility and above all the power of music.
On digital 14 April 2025
