NOW ENTERTAINMENT Feb. 00 9 - 15, 2025 Month - 00, 2023
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Anya Taylor-Joy (“The Witch,” 2015) stars alongside Miles Teller (“Top Gun: Maverick,” 2022) in “The Gorge,” premiering Friday, Feb. 14, on Apple TV+. Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy star in “The Gorge”
Cover Story Across ‘The Gorge’ : Taylor-Joy, Teller costar in action thriller this Valentine’s Day By Dana Simpson It’s been almost exactly a decade since Anya Taylor-Joy made her captivating debut in Robert Eggers’ “The Witch” at Sundance Film Festival in January 2015, but what a decade it has been. From “Split” (2016), to Netflix’s “The Queen’s Gambit,” to iconic franchises such as Dune, Mad Max and even Super Mario Bros., Taylor-Joy’s repertoire averages out at a little more than three on-screen projects per year. Now with the beginning of a new decade, the mesmerizing Argentina-born, U.K.-based actress starts off strong with an Apple TV+ film fresh out of the gate. “The Gorge,” a dark, action-packed thriller from “Doctor Strange” (2016) director Scott Derrickson, premieres globally Friday, Feb. 14, on Apple TV+. In “The Gorge,” Taylor-Joy stars as Drasa, a “highly trained operative” who has been assigned to guard the East Tower overlooking a mysteri-
ous, misty gorge in a remote location outside the contact of regular society. Luckily for Drasa (and Taylor-Joy herself), she has a companion — even if she isn’t supposed to engage with him. “War Dogs” (2016) and “Top Gun: Maverick” (2022) actor Miles Teller stars as Drasa’s West Tower counterpart, Levi, through whose eyes audiences are introduced to the mission in question and, subsequently, the film’s plot. Once an elite military sniper, Levi is hired by an industry bigwig named Bartholomew (Sigourney Weaver, “Alien,” 1979) to help Drasa guard the titular gorge, which the trailer reveals as the mouth of Hell. Stationed on opposite sides of the cavernous trench, Levi and Drasa are ordered to be on alert and make sure nothing from within makes its way to the surface. To avoid distraction, it is also imperative that the agents not engage with one another in any meaningful way. But while this is an action
thriller, the Valentine’s Day release signals love in the air. The trailer shows Drasa reaching out to Levi by way of an attention-grabbing gunshot followed by a “Love Actually”-style (2003) cue card reading “What is your name?” from across the misty expanse. What follows is a telescope-supported conversation, some long-distance chess and a tense buildup to the moment it all goes awry as Levi attempts to meet Drasa in person on the gorge’s East side. When it comes to Teller and Taylor-Joy, however, the actors were already well acquainted. “Miles and I have known each other for a really long time,” Taylor-Joy told Collider Editor-in-chief Steve Weintraub at Brazil’s CCXP film festival this past December. “I really wanted to work with him. I’m a big fan of him as a person and as an actor, and I knew I’d have fun.” In response to his friend and co-star’s statement, Teller
anticipated press write-ups by announcing that “Miles echoes that statement” before praising the originality of the film’s concept. “We’re always looking for something that feels original,” said Teller, no doubt alluding to the onslaught of reboots, remakes and sequels cropping up in cinemas and on streamers in recent years, adding, “and this was entirely original. “I just thought it was so incredibly creative,” the “Whiplash” (2014) star elaborated. “I really felt for both of these characters. There’s such a longing, there’s such an isolation, and all the things that come with having to do what they do for a career. Some of my best friends are in the military, and for what they’re required to do, there needs to be an outlet. You can’t carry it inside you — we know what the ramifications are of that. So I was just so excited to film those scenes with Anya.”