Nothing quite matches the dynamic of indie filmmakers teaming up with some of Hollywood’s biggest names. One such collaboration is already generating serious buzz on the strength of its first images alone, and it also marks Quentin Tarantino’s first major on-screen acting role in nearly 30 years. So what exactly is Only What We Carry about and who is bringing it to life?

Directed by Welsh director Jamie Adams, the project leans into his trademark improvisational style, inviting audiences into a story that unfolds through memory, without rushing to explain itself. And he has assembled a starry collection. 

Leading the film is Simon Pegg, stepping away from large-scale franchises to deliver a restrained, character-first performance. Pegg plays Julian Johns, a man whose quiet exterior masks years of creative and personal compromise. Opposite him is Sofia Boutella, whose return to Julian’s orbit provides the film’s emotional gravity.

  The ensemble deepens with Quentin Tarantino, whose unmade Star Trek flick's script was adored by Pegg, in his most substantial acting role, 30 years after his iconic special appearance in From Dusk Till Dawn in 1996. The cast is joined by the icon Charlotte Gainsbourg and rising artist Lizzy McAlpine, who is marking her feature film debut.  

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With the cast in place, the story does not rush forward; it circles, like memory does.

Early details from Deadline suggest Only What We Carry unfolds on the windswept coast of Deauville, where isolation is lived in. The story follows Julian Johns, a once-formidable artistic director of the Moulin Rouge, now living a withdrawn life by the sea while attempting to write his memoir. His carefully contained routine is disrupted when Charlotte Levant, a former dancer from his past, who tracks him down after a news article reveals his whereabouts.

Charlotte’s arrival forces a reckoning neither character has prepared for. Old grief resurfaces, buried truths come uncomfortably close to the surface, and the emotional cost of the lives they walked away from becomes impossible to ignore.

Adding further texture to this fragile dynamic is Julian’s publisher, played by Quentin Tarantino, who lives alongside him at a château as the memoir takes shape. Set largely within this coastal enclave, the narrative uses its confined setting to intensify emotional stakes, allowing regret, ambition, and unresolved intimacy to collide slowly rather than explosively. 

Anticipation builds when a film refuses to give easy timelines.

Only What We Carry is currently in post-production, having wrapped principal photography in late 2025 after a tightly scheduled shoot in Deauville, France. As of now, there is no confirmed release date or distribution announcement, though the film is expected to debut on the festival circuit before a wider release.

Quiet, actor-driven, and emotionally precise, Only What We Carry is shaping up to be a film that rewards patience and close attention.

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Are you drawn in by the cast, the tone, or its understated storytelling approach? Share your thoughts.