IFC Films has debuted the first trailer for the upcoming biographical crime drama Charlie Says. Directed by Mary Harron, the film is based on the books The Family: The Story of Charles Manson’s Dune Buggy Attack Battalion by Ed Sanders and The Long Prison Journey of Leslie Van Houten by Karlene Faith and tells the story of Faith’s efforts to help rehabilitate the Mason Family members Leslie Van Houten (Hannah Murray), Patricia Krenwinkel (Sosie Bacon), and Susan Atkins (Marianne Rendon) during their incarceration, with Matt Smith taking on the role of the notorious cult leader Charles Manson; watch the trailer here…
Years after the shocking murders that made the name Charles Manson synonymous with pure evil, the three women who killed for him—Leslie Van Houten (Hannah Murray), Patricia Krenwinkel (Sosie Bacon), and Susan Atkins (Marianne Rendón)—remain under the spell of the infamous cult leader (Matt Smith). Confined to an isolated cellblock in a California penitentiary, the trio seem destined to live out the rest of their lives under the delusion that their crimes were part of a cosmic plan—until empathetic graduate student Karlene Faith (Merritt Wever) is enlisted to rehabilitate them. Convinced the prisoners are not the inhuman monsters the world believes them to be, Karlene begins the arduous process of breaking down the psychological barriers erected by Manson. But are the women ready to confront the horror of what they did? Boundary pushing auteur Mary Harron (American Psycho, I Shot Andy Warhol) presents a provocative new perspective on one of the most notorious crimes of the 20th century.
Charlie Says is set for release on May 10th.