At the very end of the 1970’s, post office worker Ed Saxberger (Willem Dafoe) wrote a book of poetry that nobody cared about. After an eager and flattering fan (Edmund Donovan) appears on his doorstep, Saxberger is beckoned into a coterie of young admirers who anoint him a rediscovered genius. The group of downtown bohemians is led by their “tragic heroine,” Gloria (Greta Lee). Intoxicated by the attention, and Gloria’s alluring presence, Saxberger gradually reckons with the authenticity of his newfound poetic circle. From director Kent Jones (“Diane”), Oscar-nominated screenwriter Samy Burch (“May December”), and based on Arthur Schnitzler’s novella of the same name, Late Fame is a wistful yet unromantic look at a lost idea of downtown New York.
