The Goldfinch (film)

Thirteen-year-old Theodore Decker's mother is killed in a bombing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. In the aftermath, he takes a painting—The Goldfinch—and hides it at his apartment after an older man urges him to. As Theo does not have relatives in the city and was abandoned by his father, he is placed with the family of his estranged friend Andy, the Barbours.

Theo reconnects with Andy and becomes close to Andy's mother, Samantha, who encourages his interest in her antiques and art. After Samantha finds an engraved ring in Theo's possession, he visits Hobart & Blackwell, the shop which sold it. The shop is run by James "Hobie" Hobart, whose partner Welton "Welty" Blackwell died in the bombing and gave the ring to Theo to return. Welty's niece, Pippa, was also at the museum and survived the bombing, albeit seriously injured. Hobie allows Theo to visit Pippa and the two bond. Theo begins to visit Hobie regularly.

Theo settles into life with the Barbours and is invited to go on vacation with them as Andy hints that his parents are considering adopting him. Before they can, Theo's estranged and alcoholic father, Larry, newly detoxed, and his girlfriend Xandra arrive to reclaim Theo and relocate him to Las Vegas. One of the few items he takes with him is The Goldfinch.

Theo makes a friend in Boris, a Ukrainian immigrant whose father is physically abusive. Boris, who has also lost his mother, introduces Theo to drugs and alcohol. Larry becomes more addicted to alcohol and gambling and dies in a car accident. Theo decides to run away to New York, taking with him Xandra's dog, Popper. Theo begs Boris to come with him. Boris promises he will join him, and they share a kiss. He never does. Theo goes to Hobie, who allows him to live with him.

Eight years after Theo returns to New York City, he runs into Platt, Andy's older brother. Platt informs Theo that his father was bipolar and that he and Andy were killed in a boating accident during one of his episodes. Theo goes to visit the now sickly Samantha and reconnects with Kitsey, who flirts with him.

Theo works by selling restored antiques from Hobie's shop. A disgruntled art dealer accuses Theo of selling a fake, which Theo offers to buy back. However, the dealer believes that Theo possesses The Goldfinch and is using it as collateral to finance his shop. Theo is shocked that the man has made the connection between him and the painting, but is relieved that his guess as to its whereabouts is wrong as Theo continues to keep the wrapped painting in a storage locker.

Theo becomes engaged to Andy's younger sister Kitsey, whom he does not love; he still harbors a secret love for Pippa who lives in London. Theo catches Kitsey cheating on him but decides to remain engaged due to his love for Samantha and Kitsey's permissive attitude towards his drug habit.

Theo goes into a bar to score pills, where he runs into Boris. The two reconnect, and Boris tells Theo that he owes everything to their friendship. Boris apologizes to Theo for stealing The Goldfinch years ago after Theo showed it to him during a drug blackout; Boris used it to finance his life of crime before it was stolen by thieves. Theo is shocked; he thought he still had the painting but Boris replaced it with a book wrapped in newspaper. At Theo's engagement party to Kitsey, Boris arrives and tells him he has a plan to recover The Goldfinch. They fly to Amsterdam, where Theo pretends to be a wealthy businessman, and they reclaim the painting. The plan goes badly: Boris is shot. Theo kills a man in self-defense, and the painting is stolen again.

Theo goes to his hotel room and tries to commit suicide, only to be rescued by Boris. Boris tells Theo that he had a friend call in a tip to the police to recover the painting. After organizing a raid, the police are able to safely recover the painting along with other lost and stolen art including a Rembrandt. Boris argues that perhaps their strange and unwieldy path was all for the greater good. The Goldfinch survives.

• Ansel Elgort as adult Theo Decker
• Oakes Fegley as young Theo Decker
• Aneurin Barnard as adult Boris, Theo's friend from years earlier
• Finn Wolfhard as young Boris, a cosmopolitan son of a Ukrainian immigrant who becomes young Theo's close friend
• Ashleigh Cummings as adult Pippa, Theo's unrequited love and obsession
• Willa Fitzgerald as adult Kitsey Barbour, youngest Barbour child, Theo's fiancée
• Aimee Laurence as young Pippa
• Sarah Paulson as Xandra, Larry's cocktail waitress girlfriend
• Luke Wilson as Larry, Theo's deadbeat father
• Jeffrey Wright as Hobie, Theo's mentor, Pippa's temporary legal guardian
• Nicole Kidman as Mrs. Barbour, mother of the Barbour family
• Denis O'Hare as Lucius Reeve, an art collector who discovers Theo's secret
• Boyd Gaines as Mr. Barbour, father of the Barbour family
• Peter Jacobson as Naaman Silver
• Robert Joy as Welty, Pippa's legal guardian
• Luke Kleintank as adult Platt Barbour, oldest of the Barbour children
• Hailey Wist as Theo's mother

In July 2014, film rights to the novel were sold to Warner Bros. Pictures and RatPac Entertainment with ICM Partners brokering the deal.[7] Two years later, John Crowley was hired to direct the film adaptation.[8] In August 2017, Warner Bros. finalized a deal with Amazon Studios to co-finance the adaptation, where Amazon would invest in more than a third of the project's budget and obtain streaming rights to the picture on its Prime service, while Warner Bros. would distribute the film in theaters worldwide.[9]

On October 4, 2017, after a two-month casting search, Ansel Elgort was cast in the lead role of Theodore "Theo" Decker, following his breakout turn in Baby Driver.[10] On the same day, cinematographer Roger Deakins revealed to Variety that The Goldfinch was his next project after Blade Runner 2049.[11] Later that month, in light of his recent performance in Dunkirk, Aneurin Barnard was cast as Boris.[12] On November 15, Sarah Paulson was cast as Xandra.[13] By late November, Trevor Gureckis was hired as the film's composer.[14] In December 2017, Willa Fitzgerald and Ashleigh Cummings joined the cast.[15][16] During the same month, Kelley Dixon from Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul was enlisted to be the film's editor.[17] In January 2018, Jeffrey Wright, Luke Wilson, Finn Wolfhard, and Luke Kleintank joined the cast.[18][19][20][21] Later that month, the rest of the cast was announced as principal production commenced.[22]

Principal photography began in New York on January 23, 2018,[22][23] before moving to Albuquerque on April 3, 2018 for the rest of production.[24]

Footage from the film was first shown at CinemaCon on April 2, 2019.[25] The first official images were released on May 28, 2019,[26] as well as the first official teaser poster of the film.[27] The first official trailer was released on May 29, 2019.[28] About six months prior to its release, following test screenings, Warner Bros. knew the film would possibly perform poorly and in turn "dramatically" trimmed their prospective marketing plan.[4]

The Goldfinch premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 8, 2019.[29] It was theatrically released in the United States on September 13, 2019, after previously being set for October 11.[30][31]

• The Goldfinch on IMDb