It's always enticing to read that movies and television shows are based on true stories. It makes the characters seem realer, the drama more intense, and the (hopefully) happy ending even sweeter. But at the same time, there are true stories that leave viewers thinking about the truth of their own past experiences — or at least a version of the truth.
This idea of one memory being true to one person, but totally different to another, is the catalyst behind HBO's upcoming feature film, The Tale, starring Laura Dern. Dern stars as Jennifer, a documentary filmmaker who uncovers dark, and disturbing, memories from her childhood involving two adult mentors in her life. The emotional story is based on the childhood of real-life documentary filmmaker Jennifer Fox, who herself grappled with the reality of her own childhood abuse which she had summoned away, deep in her memory.
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Immediately acclaimed as one of the most timely stories out of the film festival circuit (it premiered at Sundance to a standing ovation), and now, with all that chatter, we can finally premiere the trailer for the film.
HBO previously teased a brief look at the movie, but now we get a Dern narrated clip, and our first real glimpse at the tone of the film, which edges more on nostalgic than nightmarish. We also get our first long introductions to the two adults in Jennifer's life, Mrs. G (Elizabeth Debicki) and Bill (Jason Ritter) who both had very close relationships with her as a child, and who she once called "two very special people." Led by her mother's distraught to find out what happened to her daughter all those years ago, Jennifer revisits the parts of herself that she had long forgotten.
Watch the full trailer below. The Tale premieres on HBO on May 26.