He’s done fantasy (you might recall him from that slightly successful franchise), horror, indie drama and more, so Daniel Radcliffe has thoroughly established himself as an adaptive, charming actor. Now he’s looking to conquer that mainstream job that can either be a boost or a stumbling block: the rom-com. The first trailer for What If has arrived online.
The film, adapted from T.J. Dawe and Michael Rinaldi’s play, finds Radcliffe as Wallace, a medical school dropout who has been burned in past relationships. He thinks things are looking up when he meets and clicks with the sparky Chantry (Zoe Kazan) an animator, but is saddened to discover that she’s already in a long-term relationship with Ben (Rafe Spall, tasked with playing American while Radcliffe holds on to his native tones). Deciding he can be friends with Chantry while still feeling sorry they can’t go further, Wallace must navigate the tricky minefield of modern love, while also dealing with best pal Allan (Adam Driver), who claims 100% honesty is the best policy in romantic matters, even while not quite keeping to that mantra himself.
Though it played a couple of festivals to some acclaim under the name The F Word, Goon director Michael Dowse’s latest underwent a title change for general release. With a script by Elan Mastal, the film looks to be treading a tricky line between commenting on rom-com clichés and using them itself. We’ll find out whether it manages to escape feeling like a collection of well-used tropes when What If arrives here on August 22.