In his directorial debut, Stephen Moyer’s The Parting Glass is an emotional family drama that follows the journey of an estranged family who comes together following the death of the youngest sibling, Colleen (Anna Paquin). As they journey to gather her belongings, the remaining siblings, father, and ex-husband reminisce and work to make peace with themselves and the death of their loved one.
In addition to Anna Paquin (True Blood) as Colleen, the star-studded cast includes Ed Asner (The Mary Tyler Moore Show) as Colleen’s father, Rhys Ifans (Notting Hill) as Colleen’s ex-husband, and Melissa Leo (The Fighter), Cynthia Nixon (Sex and the City), and Denis O’Hare (American Horror Story) as Anna’s three siblings.
“I’ve been taking photographs and directing plays since I was a teenager,” said Moyer. “The dream for me of combining the two elements into film has been a long gestation. The Parting Glass was borne out of that desire but also my longing to collaborate with Denis and Anna again after many years of working together with them as actors, and occasionally as their director.”
Written by Denis O’Hare, the drama explores what it means to lose a loved one and is borne out of personal loss. The Parting Glass is in part the story of O’Hare’s own loss of his sister. “My family met in Missouri,” says O’Hare, “and set out to collect her worldly possessions and bring her body home.” Following their journey, O’Hare wrote an email to friends about the experience and grappled with the idea of a film exploring a similar scenario. After speaking with Moyer about the concept, O’Hair wrote the script and ultimately decided to make the film with him.
Check out the trailer below, and watch The Parting Glass on digital Sept 10.
