Get ready for a bumpy ride. ShowtimeSpot has an exclusive first look at Magic Hour, the upcoming romantic drama from writer-director-star Katie Aselton. The film, which premiered at SXSW over a year ago, finally hits theaters this Friday, and our sneak peek reveals a marriage tested by more than just the open road.
The clip opens with a deceptively light moment: Charlie (Daveed Diggs) is driving through the desert with his wife Erin (Aselton) and her mother Diane (Susan Sullivan), passionately belting out a song on the radio. It's a charming display of his free-spirited energy—until Erin cuts the music. The mood instantly sours. Diane seizes the silence to bring up the real reason she and Erin's father divorced, bluntly suggesting that Erin can't trust Charlie either. The accusation lands like a punch, and when the family pulls over, Erin storms off into the barren landscape, leaving Charlie to fume that her mother never liked him.
This painfully awkward scene sets the stage for the couple's journey. Magic Hour follows Charlie and Erin as they escape into the desert to navigate an unforeseen new phase of their relationship. It's a story built on deep love but shadowed by the need to confront hard truths. As Aselton told Collider last year, the film is a deeply personal project, co-written with her real-life husband Mark Duplass. The duo, known for indie hits like The Puffy Chair and the Creep series, drew from their own relationship dynamics—specifically their codependency—to craft a story that feels both intimate and universal.
“We pulled out our little notes app on our phone, and we just started talking about this movie idea,” Duplass shared. “The thing that spilled out of our mouths first was our codependency. It's something that we talk a lot about, and we are confused by and conflicted about.”
The film also stars Brad Garrett and D.J. “Shangela” Pierce, rounding out a cast that brings both humor and heart to the road trip. For fans of tense, character-driven dramas, Magic Hour promises a raw look at what happens when a couple must strip away distractions and face each other—and themselves—head-on.
If you're in the mood for more gripping relationship stories, check out our list of 5 Drama Masterpieces That Hooked You in the First 10 Minutes. And for a different kind of desert drama, see how Viggo Mortensen's Grim Sci-Fi Thriller 'The Road' handles survival and sacrifice.
Magic Hour arrives in theaters on May 15. Watch our exclusive sneak peek above.
