# Zipper (film)
**Zipper** is a 2015 American political thriller and drama directed by Mora Stephens, who co-wrote the screenplay with Joel Viertel, about a federal prosecutor whose single encounter with an escort grows into an addiction that endangers his marriage, career, and political future.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/zipper) [Patrick Wilson](https://www.edgepedia.org/patrick-wilson) stars as the prosecutor Sam Ellis, with [Lena Headey](https://www.edgepedia.org/lena-headey), Richard Dreyfuss, Ray Winstone, John Cho, and [Dianna Agron](https://www.edgepedia.org/dianna-agron) in supporting roles.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/zipper) The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2015 and received a limited theatrical release on August 28, 2015.[2](https://keeping-it-reel.com/2015/08/26/zipper-2015-review/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director and writers | Mora Stephens (director, co-writer) and Joel Viertel (co-writer)[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/zipper) |
| Lead cast | Patrick Wilson (Sam Ellis), Lena Headey (Jeannie Ellis), Richard Dreyfuss (George Hiller), Ray Winstone (Coaker), John Cho (EJ), Dianna Agron (Dalia)[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3346224) |
| Release | Sundance premiere January 27, 2015; US limited theatrical release August 28, 2015; DVD and Blu-ray September 29, 2015[2](https://keeping-it-reel.com/2015/08/26/zipper-2015-review/) • [4](https://www.moviefone.com/movie/zipper/20069237/where-to-watch/) |
| Runtime | 1h 52m per Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb; 1h 43min (103 min) per JustWatch and other listings, a disagreement between databases[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/zipper) • [5](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/zipper) |
| Ratings | R (language, brief drug use, nudity, strong sexual content)[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/zipper) |
| Critical scores | 20% Tomatometer (30 reviews); Metascore 39/100; IMDb 5.8/10 from about 8,400 users[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/zipper) • [6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/zipper/critic-reviews/) • [7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3346224/ratings/) |
| Production | Protozoa Pictures, 33 Pictures, and Cargo Entertainment, among others; estimated budget $4,500,000; filmed in Louisiana[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3346224) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Sam Ellis is a successful federal prosecutor on the cusp of a political career, with a wife, Jeannie (Lena Headey), who dreams of being first lady.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/zipper) What begins as a single encounter with a high-class escort service becomes a consuming habit, and as Sam builds a candidacy for Attorney General he takes increasingly desperate measures to hide his activities from the press, his colleagues, and his ambitious wife.[5](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/zipper) • [8](https://tv.apple.com/ca/movie/zipper/umc.cmc.1f0gg7j3e7kdoxl8tee6zrgmp) A journalist, Coaker ([Ray Winstone](https://www.edgepedia.org/ray-winstone)), investigates the story while the [escort agency](https://www.edgepedia.org/escort-agency) itself draws law-enforcement attention.[9](https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/309503-zipper)
## Production and development
Writer-director Mora Stephens spent about six years getting the film made, and in a January 2015 Filmmaker Magazine interview described the fear that she would come close and ultimately not get to direct it as the single greatest fear of the process.[10](https://filmmakermagazine.com/92797-working-hard-hustling-getting-rejected-but-picking-yourself-up-again-zipper-director-mora-stephens/) In interviews at Sundance she said she started the script six years earlier, when there was a different political sex scandal in the news almost every month, and that her approach was to ask where a politician's behavior begins and to put herself in his shoes.[11](https://www.thefix.com/patrick-wilson-caught-his-pants-down-zipper/) She has described a long-standing fascination with addiction and the brain, particularly in its early stages.[12](https://screenwritingu.com/zipper-political-thriller-writerdirector-mora-stephens/)
[Darren Aronofsky](https://www.edgepedia.org/darren-aronofsky) served as executive producer alongside Scott Franklin and Ari Handel, and the producing credits included Marina Grasic, Mark Heyman, Amy Mitchell-Smith, Joel Viertel, and R. Bryan Wright.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/zipper) • [13](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3346224/fullcredits/) The film was shot in Louisiana, and its estimated budget was $4,500,000.[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3346224)
## Release and distribution
Zipper premiered at Sundance on January 27, 2015 and opened in limited US theaters on August 28, 2015, distributed by Alchemy.[2](https://keeping-it-reel.com/2015/08/26/zipper-2015-review/) • [1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/zipper) [Home video](https://www.edgepedia.org/home-video) arrived on DVD and Blu-ray on September 29, 2015.[4](https://www.moviefone.com/movie/zipper/20069237/where-to-watch/) The film circulated on US Netflix in two windows, added November 26, 2015 and removed December 31, 2016, then re-added September 27, 2017 and removed May 26, 2019.[14](https://usa.newonnetflix.info/info/80038963) In Japan it reached theaters on July 21, 2016 under the title *ZIPPER／ジッパー エリートが堕ちた罠*.[15](https://www.cinematoday.jp/movie/T0021198) As of recent listings, the film is not available on subscription streaming services in the United States but can be rented or purchased digitally, starting around $3.99 to rent on Apple TV Store.[4](https://www.moviefone.com/movie/zipper/20069237/where-to-watch/) • [5](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/zipper)
## Reception
The film was poorly received by critics. Its Tomatometer stood at 20 percent, with 6 of 30 reviews counted as fresh, and the audience Popcornmeter at 29 percent; the Metacritic Metascore was 39 out of 100, labeled "generally unfavorable".[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/zipper) • [6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/zipper/critic-reviews/) The Rotten Tomatoes critics consensus holds that "Patrick Wilson tries his best to elevate tawdry material, but Zipper is a morality tale that makes its points so clumsily that they inspire more unintentional laughter than thought."[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/zipper)
Individual reviews varied in degree but shared a direction. The Guardian's Jordan Hoffman wrote that the film "seems like it has something important to say about infidelity and the sex industry, but can't decide what that should be".[6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/zipper/critic-reviews/) [The Hollywood Reporter](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-hollywood-reporter) called it "a bland pseudo-thriller" lacking topicality or bite.[6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/zipper/critic-reviews/) Reviews were more positive about the cast: the Village Voice praised Wilson as "a charismatic and underused actor" and credited Headey with "a surprisingly complex portrait of a woman shattered by her husband but hungry for higher social position", and the New York Times noted worthy supporting turns from [John Cho](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-cho) and [Christopher McDonald](https://www.edgepedia.org/christopher-mcdonald).[6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/zipper/critic-reviews/) Among audiences, the film holds a 5.8 out of 10 on IMDb from about 8,400 votes.[7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3346224/ratings/)
## References
1. [Zipper, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/zipper)
2. [ZIPPER (2015) review, Keeping It Reel](https://keeping-it-reel.com/2015/08/26/zipper-2015-review/)
3. [Zipper (2015), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3346224)
4. [Zipper: Where to Watch, Moviefone](https://www.moviefone.com/movie/zipper/20069237/where-to-watch/)
5. [Zipper streaming: where to watch movie online, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/zipper)
6. [Zipper critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/zipper/critic-reviews/)
7. [Zipper (2015) ratings, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3346224/ratings/)
8. [Zipper, Apple TV](https://tv.apple.com/ca/movie/zipper/umc.cmc.1f0gg7j3e7kdoxl8tee6zrgmp)
9. [Zipper (2015), The Movie Database](https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/309503-zipper)
10. [Zipper | Director Mora Stephens interview, Filmmaker Magazine](https://filmmakermagazine.com/92797-working-hard-hustling-getting-rejected-but-picking-yourself-up-again-zipper-director-mora-stephens/)
11. ["Zipper" and Addiction Fiction at Sundance, The Fix](https://www.thefix.com/patrick-wilson-caught-his-pants-down-zipper/)
12. [ZIPPER, a political thriller from writer/director Mora Stephens, ScreenwritingU](https://screenwritingu.com/zipper-political-thriller-writerdirector-mora-stephens/)
13. [Zipper (2015) full cast and crew, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3346224/fullcredits/)
14. [Zipper on Netflix USA, New On Netflix](https://usa.newonnetflix.info/info/80038963)
15. [ZIPPER／ジッパー エリートが堕ちた罠 (2015), Cinema Today](https://www.cinematoday.jp/movie/T0021198)
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