Quiver Distribution revealed the official trailer for Fresh Kills, the indie drama film directed by and starring Jennifer Esposito, along with Emily Bader, Odessa A’zion, Domenick Lombardozzi, and Annabella Sciorra.

The drama follows the women of the Larusso crime family as they navigate mob life in 1980’s New York City

Release Date

Directed by Jennifer Esposito, marking her directorial debut, Fresh Kills world premiered at Tribeca Festival and opens in theaters on June 14.

Synopsis

In her debut as a writer-director, actress Jennifer Esposito (Blue Bloods, Summer Of Sam, Crash) brings late 1980s Staten Island to vivid life through the lens of Rose Larusso (Emily Bader), an inquisitive young girl who discovers that her father (Domenick Lombardozzi) is an emerging mafia kingpin. Rose’s growing desire to break free from the path set before her soon threatens her existence and alienates her from her closest allies: her mother Francine (Esposito), her sister Connie (Odessa A’zion), and her aunt Christine (Annabella Sciorra).

Reviews

The Film Stage review gave the film a grade of C+, writing, “While not reaching The Sopranos‘ level of tragedy and nuance, Fresh Kills feels very much of its universe, bursting with authenticity even if its rapid pace, compressing many of the events, gives a disjointed feel until the final act. This is the kind of family where talking about feelings is discouraged, yet this film plays a bit cold compared to the vulnerability expressed in David Chase’s series. The third act, set largely in 1997, starts paying off as walls continue to close in.”

Variety review called the film an ‘effective drama’, writing, “Despite the title, “Fresh Kills” is an organized crime tale whose body count and violence remains largely offscreen. What grips us is the fear that those things might at any moment invade the domestic lives depicted, and the resulting tension that suffuses everyday doings. The denial Rose has lived in — naively asking wised-up Connie “Is Dad an honest man?” — eventually collapses in the worst way possible. Even then, however, the emphasis isn’t on dirty deeds done, but the compromises these women make (knowingly or otherwise) to accommodate them. They married into being, or were born as, accessories.”

Official Trailer

Watch the official trailer for Fresh Kills.