Parker Posey arrived at Venice with Wild Horse Nine and, characteristically, managed to turn a film festival into something that looked a lot more like a personal pilgrimage. The Emmy-nominated actor is one of the leads in Martin McDonagh’s Parker Posey Wild Horse Nine entry at Venezia 83, and the film is already making noise well beyond the Lido red carpet.
The competition film clocks in at 118 minutes and carries a serious ensemble: John Malkovich, Sam Rockwell, Steve Buscemi, Mariana Di Girolamo, Ailín Salas, and Tom Waits round out a cast that, on paper, reads like someone stacked an indie dream team for sport. Posey plays Marge, wife to Rockwell’s CIA operative Lee, alongside Malkovich’s partner Chris, as the two agents move from Santiago to Easter Island in 1973 Chile. The film was produced by Blueprint Pictures and scored by Carter Burwell, with Ben Davis on cinematography.
The reception was, by any measure, not subtle. Deadline reported an almost 15-minute ovation following the world premiere, with The Hollywood Reporter calling it Venice 2026’s first raucous standing ovation of the festival. That is the kind of opening night any distributor would take.
Director McDonagh, speaking at the premiere, noted that a film about CIA intervention in Chile in 1973 feels unexpectedly resonant right now. RTÉ reported his comments connecting questions of US interventionism to 2026’s political landscape, referencing Washington’s involvement in Venezuela and the war against Iran. Whether audiences come for the history or the ensemble, they are apparently staying for both.
Between the Churches and the Photo Calls
Posey, to her considerable credit, did not spend her four days in Venice glued to a junket schedule. Between press rounds, she walked. She lit candles in churches for her mother, who had surgery during the festival week. She stumbled across the Santa Maria Novella shop and paused to smell the Melagrano fragrance her late father used to wear. She peered into Harry’s Bar and kept moving. The sightseeing was unscheduled, unglamorous, and clearly the part of the trip she will remember longest.
‘Venice is a magical city, and getting to celebrate Wild Horse Nine here is a treat,’ she said. ‘I can’t not think of the Renaissance when I’m in Italy (the power of art and the presence of religion) all surrounded by water and reflections. Its baroque beauty is lush and bold!’
The film work, when she returned to it, clearly delighted her too. ‘Marge is dynamic and layered, like all the characters Martin wrote,’ she said. ‘It was fun to bring a whole life to someone on screen, and especially since we don’t see her much in the film.’
The Valentino Strategy and What Comes After Wild Horse Nine
Fashion-wise, Posey worked with stylist Leith Clark and leaned fully into the theatrical. For the photo call, she wore a polka-dotted, high-neck Valentino mini dress with lace trim in a shade of pink she described as immediately appealing. For the premiere itself, the look shifted: a sheer, blush-toned Valentino cape that reached the floor, which she connected, in her own delightful way, to the Rod Serling gothic horror series Night Gallery from the 1970s.
‘The cream dress and cape had me feeling from another realm,’ she said. ‘I kept saying I was casting spells!’ The reference is unexpected, but once she names it, the silhouette snaps into focus. Posey approaches red carpet dressing the way she approaches most things: with a specific mood in mind and no particular interest in the obvious choice.
After Venice, the next move is television. Posey is hosting The Mob, a Hulu reality competition series in which celebrities are sent to a lavish Italian villa and compete in mob movie-inspired tasks for a chance to win up to $250,000. Posey is also an executive producer on the show, with Susan House as showrunner. The Hollywood Reporter confirmed the premiere date as 26 October, with weekly episode releases following, and international availability coming to Disney+.
Deadline has a first look at the series. Posey herself describes the styling as ‘a treasure trove of costumes’ and hopes it inspires viewers to play around with their own wardrobes. Given her week in Venice, that sounds about right.
The ovation in the Sala Grande and a Hulu premiere date in October: not a bad autumn calendar for someone who spent her festival breaks lighting candles and sniffing perfume in a shop her father liked.
