# Diamond (2026 film)
**Diamond** is a 2026 American neo-noir crime drama written, directed, produced by, and starring Andy Garcia, who plays Joe Diamond, a private detective dressed and living as if in a 1940s film noir while working in present-day Los Angeles. The film premiered Out of Competition at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival and runs 118 minutes.[1](https://www.festival-cannes.com/f/diamond/) • [2](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/press/press-releases/the-films-of-the-official-selection-2026/) • [3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/diamond_2026)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director, writer, star | Andy Garcia, in his second narrative feature as director after *The Lost City* (2005)[4](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/2026/the-making-of-diamond-by-andy-garcia/) |
| Genre and setting | Contemporary noir with period sensibilities, set in Los Angeles[5](https://cinemadedemain.festival-cannes.com/en/f/diamond/) |
| Runtime | 118 minutes (1h 58m)[1](https://www.festival-cannes.com/f/diamond/) • [3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/diamond_2026) |
| Festival premiere | Out of Competition, 2026 Cannes Film Festival[2](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/press/press-releases/the-films-of-the-official-selection-2026/) |
| Principal cast | Vicky Krieps, Brendan Fraser, Rosemarie DeWitt, Dustin Hoffman, Bill Murray, Danny Huston, Demián Bichir[1](https://www.festival-cannes.com/f/diamond/) |
| Music | Arturo Sandoval and Andy Garcia[1](https://www.festival-cannes.com/f/diamond/) |
| US distribution | Sony Pictures Classics, worldwide rights excluding France, Germany, Italy, and the CIS[6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt37748332/news/) |
## Spoilers
### Premise
Joe Diamond is a private detective who dresses in vintage three-piece suits and a fedora, narrates his days in hardboiled voiceover, drives a 1940s Ford, and avoids modern technology such as mobile phones and laptops. He is a local curiosity and, after solving a case involving kidnapped flamingos, an accidental social-media celebrity whose TikTok fame he does not understand. He is hired by Sharon Cobbs ([Vicky Krieps](https://www.edgepedia.org/vicky-krieps)), a former dancer and wealthy widow suspected of murdering her husband, to find the real killer, working in the shadow of LAPD detective "Danny Boy" McVicar ([Brendan Fraser](https://www.edgepedia.org/brendan-fraser)).[7](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/diamond-review-andy-garcia-directs-and-stars-as-a-noirish-detective-in-disappointingly-superficial-la-story/5217032.article) • [8](https://www.thewrap.com/creative-content/movies/diamond-review-andy-garcia-cannes/)
The film is framed by its makers as a love letter to Los Angeles and a homage to the classic film noir, with references to works including *The Big Sleep*, *Chinatown*, and *The Long Goodbye*.[5](https://cinemadedemain.festival-cannes.com/en/f/diamond/) • [9](https://mulderville.net/en/reviews/6975/diamond) Reviews describe a late-film twist that recontextualizes Joe's anachronistic existence as a psychological shelter built around grief and trauma, shifting the film's center from the murder case to the detective's own past.[8](https://www.thewrap.com/creative-content/movies/diamond-review-andy-garcia-cannes/) • [9](https://mulderville.net/en/reviews/6975/diamond)
## Production
**A twenty-year gestation.** Garcia conceived the character around 2005 while helping his daughter Daniella with an English assignment: writing a noir short story based on [Raymond Chandler](https://www.edgepedia.org/raymond-chandler)'s *The Long Goodbye*. Garcia improvised the character, noted scenes, and recorded inner monologues, some of which appear in the finished film. He later considered a television series, writing a 60-page pilot in 2012 that HBO and other networks declined to buy. After rejections from studios and streaming platforms, the film was financed independently, partly by Filipino producer Paul Soriano.[4](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/2026/the-making-of-diamond-by-andy-garcia/) • [10](https://elpais.com/cultura/cine/2026-05-20/andy-garcia-actor-tengo-un-agujero-en-el-corazon-por-cuba.html)
The film was shot in 25 days across 40 locations, all in Los Angeles, which Garcia scouted himself. The [California Film Commission](https://www.edgepedia.org/california-film-commission)'s approved-projects list records *Diamond* under JOE DIAMOND LLC. in its Independent Film $10m & Under program, with $6,355,000 approved on March 3, 2025.[4](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/2026/the-making-of-diamond-by-andy-garcia/) • [10](https://elpais.com/cultura/cine/2026-05-20/andy-garcia-actor-tengo-un-agujero-en-el-corazon-por-cuba.html) • [11](https://cdn.film.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/All-Programs-Approved-Projects.pdf)
**Visual and musical approach.** Garcia and cinematographer Tim Suhrstedt (*Little Miss Sunshine*) worked in natural light and drew on the painter [Edward Hopper](https://www.edgepedia.org/edward-hopper), with *Nighthawks* in mind for shot composition; IMDb trivia notes their use of "negative fill," removing light from scenes to reinforce the noir atmosphere. Joe Diamond wears a single suit, designed by Deborah L. Scott, an Oscar winner for *Titanic*, a constraint that allowed improvised takes to be cut together seamlessly. The score by Arturo Sandoval and Garcia combines jazz standards by [Miles Davis](https://www.edgepedia.org/miles-davis), Bill Evans, and [Duke Ellington](https://www.edgepedia.org/duke-ellington) with an original song written and performed by Garcia, accompanied by Sandoval on trumpet.[4](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/2026/the-making-of-diamond-by-andy-garcia/) • [12](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt37748332/)
Filming locations cited by critics include the [Bradbury Building](https://www.edgepedia.org/bradbury-building), which houses Diamond's office, [Angels Flight](https://www.edgepedia.org/angels-flight), Grand Central Market, and Cole's French Dip, the historic downtown restaurant.[7](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/diamond-review-andy-garcia-directs-and-stars-as-a-noirish-detective-in-disappointingly-superficial-la-story/5217032.article) • [9](https://mulderville.net/en/reviews/6975/diamond)
## Cast
Garcia assembled a large ensemble: Vicky Krieps as Sharon Cobbs, Brendan Fraser as "Danny Boy" McVicar, [Rosemarie DeWitt](https://www.edgepedia.org/rosemarie-dewitt) as Angel, a mysterious bar regular, [Dustin Hoffman](https://www.edgepedia.org/dustin-hoffman) as coroner Dr. Harry Kleiman, Bill Murray as Jimbo, a bartender and part-time lawyer, [Danny Huston](https://www.edgepedia.org/danny-huston) as attorney Bruce Tenenbaum, and Demián Bichir, Rachel Ticotin, Yul Vazquez, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, and Robert Patrick in supporting roles. Daniella Garcia, whose school assignment started the project, appears as Violett, a hotel receptionist.[1](https://www.festival-cannes.com/f/diamond/) • [4](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/2026/the-making-of-diamond-by-andy-garcia/) • [8](https://www.thewrap.com/creative-content/movies/diamond-review-andy-garcia-cannes/)
## Release and reception
*Diamond* premiered at Cannes on May 19, 2026, in the Out of Competition strand, and received a seven-minute standing ovation, though the opening Waymo gag reportedly met near silence in the Grand Théâtre Lumière.[6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt37748332/news/) • [8](https://www.thewrap.com/creative-content/movies/diamond-review-andy-garcia-cannes/) • [9](https://mulderville.net/en/reviews/6975/diamond) In July 2026, [Sony Pictures Classics](https://www.edgepedia.org/sony-pictures-classics) acquired worldwide distribution rights excluding France, Germany, Italy, and the CIS; Nour Films handles French distribution, and the film screened at the [Deauville American Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/deauville-american-film-festival) in September 2026.[6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt37748332/news/) • [13](https://www.festival-deauville.com/en/movies/diamond/)
On Rotten Tomatoes the film held an 83% Tomatometer from 12 reviews.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/diamond_2026) Critical response was mixed. Tim Grierson of *Screen International* called it a disappointingly superficial story that luxuriates in noir trappings, while Owen Gleiberman of *Variety* found it charming but slight and Jordan Mintzer of *The Hollywood Reporter* described a sweet, tongue-in-cheek ode to classic L.A. noir with a satisfying conclusion.[7](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/diamond-review-andy-garcia-directs-and-stars-as-a-noirish-detective-in-disappointingly-superficial-la-story/5217032.article) • [14](https://www.filmaffinity.com/uk/film157730.html) Several reviews single out the final twist and DeWitt's performance as the film's emotional payoff.[8](https://www.thewrap.com/creative-content/movies/diamond-review-andy-garcia-cannes/) • [9](https://mulderville.net/en/reviews/6975/diamond)
The Cannes festival page lists the year of production as 2025, while AlloCiné and other databases list 2026; both dates appear in trade coverage of the film's festival run.[1](https://www.festival-cannes.com/f/diamond/) • [15](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm%3D1000033263.html)
## References
1. [DIAMOND – Festival de Cannes](https://www.festival-cannes.com/f/diamond/)
2. [The films of the Official Selection 2026 – Festival de Cannes](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/press/press-releases/the-films-of-the-official-selection-2026/)
3. [Diamond (2026) – Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/diamond_2026)
4. [The Making of Diamond by Andy Garcia – Festival de Cannes](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/2026/the-making-of-diamond-by-andy-garcia/)
5. [DIAMOND – Cinéma de Demain, Festival de Cannes](https://cinemadedemain.festival-cannes.com/en/f/diamond/)
6. [Diamond (2026) – News – IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt37748332/news/)
7. ['Diamond' review – Screen International](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/diamond-review-andy-garcia-directs-and-stars-as-a-noirish-detective-in-disappointingly-superficial-la-story/5217032.article)
8. ['Diamond' Review: Andy Garcia Puts a Little Heart and Humor in Film Noir – TheWrap](https://www.thewrap.com/creative-content/movies/diamond-review-andy-garcia-cannes/)
9. [Diamond – Mulderville.net review](https://mulderville.net/en/reviews/6975/diamond)
10. [Andy García, actor: "Tengo un agujero en el corazón por Cuba" – El País](https://elpais.com/cultura/cine/2026-05-20/andy-garcia-actor-tengo-un-agujero-en-el-corazon-por-cuba.html)
11. [All Programs Approved Projects – California Film Commission](https://cdn.film.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/All-Programs-Approved-Projects.pdf)
12. [Diamond (2026) – IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt37748332/)
13. [Diamond – Festival du Cinéma Américain de Deauville](https://www.festival-deauville.com/en/movies/diamond/)
14. [Diamond (2026) – FilmAffinity, critics' reviews](https://www.filmaffinity.com/uk/film157730.html)
15. [Diamond – Film 2026 – AlloCiné](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm%3D1000033263.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Crime, thriller, and mystery films (individual works) › 2025–2026 films › Mystery and detective films*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license