Despite the idea of the suspense thriller for grown-ups being routinely declared dead, the genre itself refuses to stay dead. Every few months, some such film will quietly make a tidy profit at the box office, despite not gathering the same attention as pictures with more explosions in them. Last year saw films like "The Lincoln Lawyer," "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" and "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" all end up firmly in the black, and the companies behind the latter, producers Working Title Films and distributors Focus Features, are teaming up again for another highly promising-sounding turn.
Deadline report that the two companies are pairing for an untitled thriller written by Steven Knight, the Oscar-nominated scribe on "Eastern Promises," which will be directed by theater director-turned-filmmaker John Crowley, who helped catapult Andrew Garfield to stardom with "Boy A." And the film already has its leads, in Eric Bana and Rebecca Hall.
The two will play Martin and Claudia, lawyers and former lovers, who find their lives put at risk when they both join the defense team for the trial of an international terrorist. Focus toppers James Schamus and Andrew Karpen call the film "not only a nail-biting thriller, but an emotional rollercoaster as well — one that speaks to the heart of the human condition in our time."
They're certainly playing our tune. We're fans of all the talent involved, and hopefully it'll be a good showcase for Bana, who Hollywood has never quite worked out how to use, besides his sterling performance in "Munich." Filming starts in April in Britain, so we'll see this some time in 2013. More casting is sure to follow soon.
