Andrea Riseborough Relives Past Loves in “Luxor” Trailer

Andrea Riseborough has become one of our most fascinating actresses, picking some of the darkest and wildest films of the past few years, including Nocturnal Animals, Mandy and this year's Possessor. But her latest film gives her an opportunity to play something a bit more traditional, though no less powerful.

In Luxor, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival this year, she plays Hana, a British aid worker who returns to Egypt to reconnect with her past. But she gets more than she expected when she runs into Sultan (Karim Saleh), an old flame. While immersing herself in the history of the country, she's overwhelmed with emotions and forced to rethink her life going forward. The film also had a real-life impact on the stars, as they began dating in real life.

This marks writer-director Zeina Durra's first film in a decade. 2010 marked her feature debut: the New York art world drama The Imperialists Are Still Alive! Both films competed for the World Cinema – Dramatic prize at Sundance.

Luxor opens in select theaters and on VOD on Friday, December 4.

About Kip Mooney

Like many film critics born during and after the 1980s, my hero is Roger Ebert. The man was already the best critic in the nation when he won the Pulitzer in 1975, but his indomitable spirit during and after his recent battle with cancer keeps me coming back to read not only his reviews but his insightful commentary on the everyday. But enough about a guy you know a lot about. I knew I was going to be a film critic—some would say a snob—in middle school, when I had to voraciously defend my position that The Royal Tenenbaums was only a million times better than Adam Sandler’s remake of Mr. Deeds. From then on, I would seek out Wes Anderson’s films and avoid Sandler’s like the plague. Still, I like to think of myself as a populist, and I’ll be just as likely to see the next superhero movie as the next Sundance sensation. The thing I most deplore in a movie is laziness. I’d much rather see movies with big ambitions try and fail than movies with no ambitions succeed at simply existing. I’m also a big advocate of fun-bad movies like The Room and most of Nicolas Cage’s work. In the past, I’ve written for The Dallas Morning News and the North Texas Daily, which I edited for a semester. I also contributed to Dallas-based Pegasus News, which in the circle of life, is now part of The Dallas Morning News, where I got my big break in 2007. Eventually, I’d love to write and talk about film full-time, but until that’s a viable career option, I work as an auditor for Wells Fargo. I hope to one day meet my hero, go to the Toronto International Film Festival, and compete on Jeopardy. Until then, I’m excited to share my love of film with you.