Hugh Jackman plays real-life (failed) presidential candidate Gary Hart in the official trailer for The Front Runner. The true story-based political drama is the second film directed by Jason Reitman this year, after the Charlize Theron-headlined motherhood dramedy Tully.


Written by Reitman, former Hilary Clinton spokesman Jay Carson (House of Cards), and Matt Bai (author of the book that inspired the film, All the Truth Is Out: The Week Politics Went Tabloid), The Front Runner reveals how Hart went from being the Democratic party frontrunner for president in 1987 to having to bow out in 1988, after a scandal involving an extramarital affair sent his presidential campaign off the rails. Reitman's latest project will debut on the film festival circuit in Toronto and (as was just announced) Telluride before it hits theaters in November, shortly after the 2018 midterm elections. You can check out the film's trailer in the space below.The trailer for The Front Runner jumps back and forth from the perspective of several different characters who get caught up in the Hart scandal - something that Reitman told EW is reflective of the movie's actual narrative structure.


According to the filmmaker, Front Runner is told from "a dozen different perspectives" and ultimately ends up "observing this story from every perspective". The film's poster, which you can see below, also shows the Hart campaign (bus, that is) going off a cliff in a more literal sense.Jackman is joined in The Front Runner cast by Reitman's frequent collaborator J.K. Simmons as Hart's campaign manager Bill Dixon, along with Vera Farmiga (who also starred in Reitman's Up in the Air) as Hart's wife, Lee. Other key players in the story here include Molly Ephraim (Last Man Standing) as Irene Kelly, a scheduler for Hart's political campaign, as well as Mamoudou Athie (The Get Down) and Steve Zissis (Togetherness) as reporters for The Washington Post and Miami Herald, respectively.


Lastly, Sara Paxton (The Innkeepers) plays Donna Rice, the actor/model whose life was forever impacted by her role in the Hart scandal.Reitman, for his part, has struggled of late, with his films Labor Day and Men, Women & Children being widely dismissed by critics and general audiences. However, thanks to the positive critical reception for Tully, the director is already on his way to once again scaling the same creative heights that he reached with his earlier directorial efforts on Thank You For Smoking, Juno, and Up in the Air. The Front Runner certainly looks and sounds like a timely and relevant piece of political theater, so (if that's the case) here's to hoping that it keeps Reitman on his current upward trajectory.