You’ve got to hand it to Jonah Hill and James Franco, both of whom manage to effortlessly glide between comedic and dramatic roles. It’s not easy to be a popular goofball and an Oscar nominated “serious” actor, but somehow these two have managed to pull it off. Their latest film, ‘True Story’ is unique in that it is the first project to cast them together in dramatic roles. When you watch the first trailer for film, you can be forgiven for expecting them to drop the dramatic stare-downs and start riffing with each other at any moment.

That title isn’t a lie: ‘True Story’ is based on a true story, one recounted in writer Michael Finkel’s 2006 memoir of the same name. Hill plays Finkel, a recently fired New York Times journalist who learns that a recently captured fugitive murderer has been using his name as an alias. Intrigued, Finkel meets with Christian Longo (Franco) and things start to get really weird and really uncomfortable, falling somewhere in the grey space between ‘The Silence of the Lambs’ and ‘Serial.’

It’s certainly an effective trailer and the film has already been granted a premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January, where it has the potential to build a lot of buzz for its April release date. All of the elements seem right on the surface, so now we just have to see if newcomer director Rupert Goold can deliver.

Here’s the synopsis supplied by the Sundance Film Festival:

When disgraced New York Times reporter Michael Finkel meets accused killer Christian Longo — who has taken on Finkel’s identity — his investigation morphs into an unforgettable game of cat and mouse. Based on actual events, Finkel’s relentless pursuit of Longo’s true story encompasses murder, love, deceit, and redemption.

‘True Story’ will open in theaters on April 10, 2015.

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