The Life and Deaths of Wilson Shedd
A relationship begins that pushes a couple down a rabbit hole of need, survival, promised freedom, and unexpected tragedy in writer/director Tim Blake Nelson’s powerful prison drama. Karen (Amanda Seyfried) volunteers as a creative writing teacher at the local penitentiary, a small window of escape from her abusive, unemployed, drunkard husband. Through reading the personal stories of the inmates, she forges an unexpected connection with one of them, Wilson Shedd (Scoot McNairy). Neither Karen nor Wilson are what they appear to be, and through Southern Gothic, nonlinear storytelling, the film peels the onions of their characters and hidden torments. Nelson (who also appears as the prison’s warden) does not just deliver a tale of two haunted souls but also provides a steely eyed, unblinkered gaze on capital punishment. The Life and Deaths of Wilson Shedd is a potent film that address real-world issues with compassion, poignancy, and vividness. —Sterling Hedgpeth
Director/s
Tim Blake Nelson
A native of Tulsa, OK, and a graduate of Brown University and Julliard, Tim Blake Nelson first established himself as an actor in both indie and mainstream fare before making his writing and directing debut in 1997 with Eye of God. That was followed by O (2001), The Grey Zone (2001), Leaves of Grass (2009), and Anesthesia (2015).
Expected Guests
TIM BLAKE NELSON: Director, Actor