Shia LaBeouf may be a clown, but even though his comments during interviews get increasingly stupid (to the point where his Hollywood persona is becoming almost a parody of itself), people love to hire the guy. Directors have often said, he’s the first one on set and he even usually sticks around for scenes he’s not even in rather than pampering himself in his trailer. It might be more his work ethnic than his talent that has made it so he’s worked with some of the biggest and best names in the business. Now, he’ll be starring alongside Robert Redford (his first acting role since his well-intentioned, but dreadful Lions of Lambs in 2007) in The Company You Keep, which Redford also directs.

The film is a political thriller about a former Weather Underground activist (Redford) who goes on the run after a journalist (LaBeouf) discovers his identity. With a monster supporting cast that include Anna Kendrick, Stanley Tucci, Julie Christie, Sam Elliot, Terrence Howard, Richard Jenkins, Nick Nolte, Chris Cooper, Susan Sarandon, Stephen Root, and Brendan Gleeson, critics definitely won’t be able to claim a lack of talent if it turns out to be subpar.

And really, the trailer itself is good. I love an intelligent political thriller and even LaBeouf, who can easily get under a viewer’s skin, can be damn good in the right role. I’ve also missed Redford’s charisma on the screen, so it will be great to see him on the big screen again. It’s impossible not to love the guy.

The film will be premiering at the Venice International Film Festival in a few days before going on to screen at TIFF later in September.