Tom Burke joins A24’s Please

A24 just made “Please” feel more real. Tom Burke has joined Gracie Abrams in Halina Reijn’s next film, and that changes the temperature around the project. Before this, the hook was mostly Abrams making her acting debut. Now there’s a proven screen actor in the mix — someone who can carry a difficult, moody, adult movie if that’s where Reijn is heading. ### Who actually joined what? Burke signed on to co-star in “Please,” the new A24 feature written and directed by Halina Reijn. Abrams was already attached in the lead-up to the project, with her role framed as her first acting job on a feature film. Character details are still under wraps, which is very much the point right now — A24 and Reijn are selling intrigue, not plot. ### Why is Tom Burke a meaningful add? (deadline.com) Burke is not just “another cast member.” He’s the kind of actor filmmakers use when they want ambiguity, intensity, and a little danger without overexplaining any of it. His recent profile got a boost from “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga,” and he already has strong indie credibility from work like “The Souvenir.” So his presence signals that “Please” is probably not being built as a lightweight celebrity crossover. ### Why is Gracie Abrams the bigger curiosity? Because this is her acting debut, and that always creates two stories at once. One story is the movie itself. The other is whether the singer can actually act on screen when the camera stops forgiving charisma and starts demanding control. Abrams already brought a built-in audience when she signed on in January, but a debut can cut both ways — attention helps, expectations bite. (variety.com) ### Why does Halina Reijn make this more interesting? Reijn has become one of A24’s clearest auteur bets. “Bodies Bodies Bodies” gave her a sharp, contemporary genre voice. “Babygirl” pushed her further into provocative adult drama territory. So when she reunites with A24 again, the assumption is not “content play.” It’s that she has enough leverage now to make something specific, strange, and actor-driven. (deadline.com) ### Do we know what “Please” is about? Not really. The plot is still secret. But the pattern tells you something. Reijn’s films tend to orbit power, desire, humiliation, performance, and the mess people create when they want to be seen. That does not tell you the story, obviously — but it does suggest the movie will probably lean character-first rather than franchise-first. That’s an inference from Reijn’s recent work and A24’s choice to keep selling the package through names, not premise. (deadline.com) ### Why does A24 care about this cast beat now? Because casting news is how a project graduates from announcement to momentum. In January, “Please” was a director-plus-debut-star story. In May, it becomes a film with a recognizable acting pairing and a clearer commercial shape. That matters for buyers, festival watchers, and basically anyone trying to guess which A24 titles could become the next prestige conversation piece. (deadline.com) ### Is this a Cannes story too? Indirectly, yes. The timing lines up with the annual market chatter cycle, when every new attachment on a notable arthouse project gets amplified. But the real point is simpler — A24 is giving Reijn another well-timed push, and Burke’s addition makes that push easier to take seriously. ### Bottom line? The news is small on paper — one actor joins one movie. (deadline.com) But it sharpens what “Please” is. This now looks less like a curiosity built around Gracie Abrams trying acting and more like a real Halina Reijn film that happens to use Abrams as its newest variable. Burke is the clue. (deadline.com)