A trailer has dropped for “All We Had,” Katie Holmes’ feature directorial debut. The spot kicks off with 15-year-old Ruthie (Stefania Owen, “Chance”) asking her young mother Rita (Holmes), “What are we doing to do?” Rita assures her, “We’re just going to figure it out as we go.” It’s clear that the two are rootless and struggling.
Besieged by bad luck and suffering from a lack of money, the two live in Rita’s run-down car and hit the road in the hopes of finding a better life. After their car breaks down and the little money they have runs out, the duo “become stranded in a small town where Rita ultimately lands a steady job waitressing at Tiny’s, a local diner where they begin to develop a family: tender-hearted Marty (Richard Kind), the owner of the diner, and Pam (Eve Lindley), a transgender waitress with big dreams who becomes Ruthie’s closest friend,” the film’s official synopsis details.
Committed as they are to one another, Rita and Ruthie’s relationship is not without complications. The trailer gives hints about some of their conflicts, including boundary issues. “You can’t tell me what to do,” Ruthie shouts at Rita, insisting that she doesn’t act like her mother.
“All We Had” premiered at Tribeca Film Festival this year. The film is based on Annie Weatherwax’s 2014 novel of the same name.
“I opened the book and I was drawn to this story because of the authentic characters and their struggles,” Holmes told Women and Hollywood. She elaborated, “I want people to walk away from this film with more empathy for others. And hopefully with a greater understanding and patience for what people endure because of circumstances that are out of their control. You never truly know what is going on in someone’s life.”
Holmes previously directed 2015’s “Eternal Princess.” The doc short centers on a record-breaking Olympic gymnast.
“All We Had” is written by Jill Killington and Josh Boone, and hits theaters and On Demand December 9.
Holmes’ recent acting credits include “Ray Donovan,” “Touched with Fire,” and “Woman in Gold.”
Check out the trailer below.
