Episode notes
Late Fame, released in 2025 is a sleeper film, directed by Kent Jones, which chronicles the life of former poet, Ed Saxberger, played by Willem Dafoe, whom has been a postal worker for 37 years and lives a quiet life in lower NYC. He is approached by a zealous fan and fellow poet whom encourages him to attend the weekly group meetings that he has with colleagues that are all under 30 aspiring poets and writers and they gather to philosophize about the creative process and poetry. They are all well-off and sort of entitled creatives searching for a purpose and they are striving for self-identity. The groups performance falls flat and they are no very impressive but Dafoe is outstanding, based on his performance, his compassion and his integrity. I rate it a 2.5 stars out of 5, and it's mostly because of his stellar performance, but it is a lonely film that leaves you haunted and it was not a favorite.