Tracy Letts Hosts a Very Uncomfortable Family Meal with Elle Fanning and Jamie Bell in First ‘Rosebush Pruning’ Clip — Watch

A stacked cast descends upon Berlin this month for the world premiere of Karim Aïnouz‘s lustily awaited, prickly family drama “Rosebush Pruning.”

The ensemble includes Callum Turner, Elle Fanning, Jamie Bell, Riley Keough, Lukas Gage, Tracy Letts, Pamela Anderson, and Elena Anaya — and a new clip shared by Mubi, which is repping sales on the film at the festival, offers a devious taste of the drama. It’s scripted by Efthimis Filippou, the co-writer on the more hopeless Yorgos Lanthimos movies like “Kinds of Kindness” and “The Killing of a Sacred Deer.”

Here’s the official synopsis before we dive into what’s going on in the clip: “In an opulent villa underneath the Catalonian sun, American siblings Jack, Ed, Anna, and Robert wallow in isolation and their inherited fortune, eschewing the demands of their blind father, and seeking love and validation through each other and their latest designer clothes. When Jack, the eldest brother and linchpin of this family, announces he is moving in with his girlfriend, Martha, blood ties are severed, and Ed starts to uncover the truth surrounding their mother’s death. Generational lies begin to unravel, and the fabric of this family slowly begins to disintegrate.”

Those siblings are played by Turner, Bell, Keough, and Gage, and in the clip below, Letts’ character asks his children to describe Martha’s (Fanning) physical appearance and “bosom,” and they all proceed to debate about it in ways that quietly humiliate Martha — and treat her like she’s not even in the room.

“Rosebush Pruning” is inspired by Marco Bellocchio’s 1965 drama “Fists in the Pocket,” the Italian director’s debut about siblings mounting an almost family annihilation. Originally, Kristen Stewart and Josh O’Connor were set to star in “Rosebush Pruning” before they were swapped by Keough and Turner due to scheduling conflicts. Filming has been completed for over a year, and “Rosebush” had been expected at multiple festivals ahead of Berlin.

Brazilian director Aïnouz’s last film was 2004’s sexually charged Cannes premiere; he also directed “Firebrand,” Brazil’s 2020 Oscar entry “The Invisible Life of Eurídice Gusmão,” and “Futuro Beach.”

Other starry films landing at this year’s Berlin Film Festival include “Everybody Digs Bill Evans” with Anders Danielsen Lie, “Queen at Sea” with Juliette Binoche, honorary Golden Bear recipient Michelle Yeoh in Sean Baker’s short “Sandiwara,” “Rose” with Sandra Hüller, and much more.

Watch the “Rosebush Pruning” clip below.