The Truth About Emanuel

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Francesca Gregorini directs. Polly Morgan behind the camera. Nathan Larson scores. Antony Langdon cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America, United Kingdom, Mexico. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 1Shot for just $1.3M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
• 2Earned back only 0% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
• 3Released 13 years ago.
• 4International production across 3 countries: United States of America, United Kingdom, Mexico.
• 5Directed by Francesca Gregorini, shot by Polly Morgan. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 6Original score by Nathan Larson. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 7Editor Antony Langdon shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 8Kaya Scodelario and Jessica Biel and Alfred Molina carry the top of the cast.
• 9Marketing tagline: "Two Lives. Two Voids. One Secret.".
• 10IMDB entry: tt1838520 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography

Polly Morgan

Original score

Nathan Larson

Editing

Antony Langdon

Production design

Anne Costa

Costume design

Erica Nicotra

Makeup / hair

Bill Myer

VFX supervisor

Jake Braver

Sound

Gary Coppola

Stunt coordinator

Katie Rowe

Runtime

96 min · 1h 36m

Aspect ratio (typical)

1.37:1 (Academy)

Status

Released

Budget

$1,300,000

Box office

$4,404

Return

0% of budget

Original language

EN

Certification (US)

NR

IMDB

The Truth About Emanuel (2013) ↗

Rotten Tomatoes

41% 🥫 Rotten

Metacritic

41/100

IMDB rating

6/10 · 10,207 votes

MPAA

Not Rated

Also by

Francesca Gregorini

• 
  Killing Eve

  2018 · ★ 7.9
• 
  Humans

  2015 · ★ 7.5
• 
  The Dropout

  2022 · ★ 7.4
• 
  Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams

  2017 · ★ 7.0
• 
  Based on a True Story

  2023 · ★ 7.0
• 
  Vladimir

  2026 · ★ 6.8

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper Wallpaper Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  The New Neighbour Official Trailer

  Trailer · Official
• 

  ▶
  'The Truth About Emanuel' trailer - in cinemas from 9 May 2014

  Trailer · Official
• 

  ▶
  THE TRUTH ABOUT EMANUEL (2014) Official Trailer - Well Go USA

  Trailer · Official
• 

  ▶
  The Truth About Emanuel Official Trailer #1 (2013) - Jessica Biel Movie HD

  Trailer

Production companies

Who made it

• 

  Rooks Nest Entertainment

  GB

• 

  MRB Productions

  US

• PI

  Pisces Rising Productions

• PR

  Producciones a Ciegas

• MO

  Mott Street Pictures

• 

  Votiv Films

  US

Key crew

• EditorAntony Langdon
• Production DesignAnne Costa
• Art DirectionBrittany Bradford
• Set DecorationKatelynn Wheelock
• Costume DesignErica Nicotra
• ProducerMatthew R. Brady
• ProducerFrancesca Gregorini
• ProducerRooney Mara
• CastingDeborah Aquila
• CastingTricia Wood
• Script CoordinatorTone Hoeft
• Script SupervisorKatie Eastridge
• StuntsJessica Harbeck
• Digital ColoristAndrew Francis
• GafferTerry Meadows
• Executive ProducerAlice Bamford
• Co-Executive ProducerPeggy Case
• Executive ProducerJonathan Gray
• Executive ProducerJulia Godzinskaya
• Executive ProducerMichael Sackler
• Executive ProducerPaul Schiff
• Executive ProducerKevin Iwashina
• Executive ProducerOlga Segura-Gall
• Executive ProducerAlex Sagalchik

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• woman director

Release history · US

When it landed

• Premiere2013-01-18· Sundance Film Festival
• Theatrical2013-04-26NR

Also known as

International titles

• Emanuel and the Truth About FishesUS
• Linda's Child - Unterschätze nie, wozu eine Mutter fähig istDE
• The New NeighbourAU
• Emanuel e a Verdade Sobre PeixesBR
• La vérité sur EmanuelFR
• La verdad de EmanuelVE
• La verità su EmanuelIT