RUN THIS TOWN Trailer

A mayor’s downfall affects many lives in Run This Town, the feature debut of writer/director Ricky Tollman.

Perhaps you’ve heard of former Toronto mayor Rob Ford? His flameout thanks to substance abuse problems became international news, but that was only the tip of the iceberg in that troubling story. Using the turbulence of Ford’s final year as mayor as a backdrop, Run This Town imagines the young people caught in the periphery, including members of his office trying to keep things under control and media personnel trying to break the story. With no safety net of experience or connections to fall back on, each must navigate the minefield while keeping their careers and their morality intact.

Tollman appears to be spinning this as a political thriller, eschewing the bumbling, silly figure many made Ford out to be at the time. It helps that he’s not focusing on the man himself (who has since passed on from cancer), but that’s still a difficult track to take. With no previous feature experience, it will be interesting to see if he can keep this crazy story from spinning out.

Focusing on younger people also means he’s working with a less experienced cast, so while bigger names like Damian Lewis and Jennifer Ehle are mentioned, the true stars are Ben Platt (Pitch Perfect), Mena Massoud (Aladdin), and Nina Dobrev (The Vampire Diaries). Those three have been kicking around, sure, but none are sure bets to pull off such tense material. If they and Tollman do manage to wrangle this, though, it could be a meaty thriller.

Run This Town is directed by Ricky Tollman and stars Ben Platt, Mena Massoud, and Nina Dobrev. It will be released in the US on March 6th, 2020. For international release dates, click here.

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