Oakes Fegley (Pete’s Dragon) stars in The Goldfinch as Theodore “Theo” Decker, a young boy who’s only thirteen years old when his mother is killed in a terrorist bombing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (which he witnesses). The movie follows Theo as he’s passed from one parental figure to another while also jumping back and forth from eight years later, when Theo (Ansel Elgort) is an antique dealer. However, his past comes back to haunt him when one of his clients deduces that Theo stole a famous work of art - the Dutch Golden Age painting known as “The Goldfinch” - in the wake of the bombing.

For those who are wondering, The Goldfinch does NOT include a post-credits scene. The movie, like Tartt’s source book, is standalone and wraps up fully before the end credits start rolling. And while the credits are still worth sitting through (as it the case with all films), those who hang around shouldn’t expect anything extra after The Goldfinch’s final scene.

Fegley and Elgort are joined in The Goldfinch cast by seasoned veterans (and, in the former’s case, an Oscar-winner) Nicole Kidman and Jeffrey Wright, as two of Theo’s parental guardians or mentors along his winding journey. Luke Wilson and Sarah Paulson costar as Theo’s alcoholic, emotionally-abusive father and his girlfriend, with Stranger Things and IT’s Finn Wolfhard playing Theo’s childhood friend, Boris Pavlikovsky. Tartt’s original novel is filled to the brim with characters that either aid or endanger (or do a little of both) Theo over the years, so it’s only fitting that the movie adaptation be equally stacked with talened actors.

WB premiered The Goldfinch at the Toronto International Film Festival ahead of its theatrical relase, in an effort to build up some awards season buzz for the movie. Unfortunately, that plans hasn’t worked out so far. The Goldfinch’s early reviews were pretty brazenly negative and the critical consensus hasn’t exactly improved since then. No doubt, there are plenty of people (in particular, fans of Tartt’s book) who plan on seeing the film all the same. But again, those who do shouldn’t expect anything out of the ordinary to happen once The Goldfinch’s credits get underway.

  • The Goldfinch Release Date: 2019-09-13