Talk about having all of the luck. First-time director Benjamin Millepied had fate by his side when casting his debut feature, Carmen. Why’s that? Because his red-hot stars are Oscar-nominee Paul Mescal and Scream star Melissa Barrera, who are both having a moment right now.
The scorching duo of Mescal and Barrera star in Millepied’s musical adaptation of the classic opera Carmen, based on the hit musical. Barrera plays Carmen, a Mexican woman who flees her home to the U.S., survives a deadly encounter crossing the border, and forges a relationship with a sympathetic bodyguard who aids in her journey.
Millepied is working from a script he co-wrote with Alexander Dinelaris Jr. and Loïc Barrère. Nicholas Britell provided new music to coincide with the opera’s original music by Georges Bizet.
Barrera is best-known for starring in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s In the Heights, as well as Scream and the upcoming sequel Scream 6. Mescal is a current Best Actor Oscar nominee for his stunning performance in Aftersun. He recently signed on to star in the upcoming Gladiator sequel.
Carmen will open in theaters this April.
“CARMEN” follows a young and fiercely independent woman who is forced to flee her home in the Mexican desert following the brutal murder of her mother. Carmen (MELISSA BARRERA) survives a terrifying and dangerous illegal border crossing into the US, only to be confronted by a lawless volunteer border guard, who cold-bloodedly murders two other immigrants in her group. When the border guard and his patrol partner, Aidan (PAUL MESCAL)—a Marine with PTSD—become embroiled in a deadly standoff, Carmen and Aidan are forced to escape together. They make their way north towards Los Angeles in search of Carmen’s mother’s best friend, the mercurial Masilda (ROSSY DE PALMA) and owner of La Sombra nightclub – a sanctuary of music and dance. Carmen and Aidan find both solace and their unwavering love for one another in the safety of Masilda’s magical refuge, but time is running out as the police hunt closes in.
