Patricia Clarkson is simply one of the best (and one of our favorite) actresses out there. And while the Oscar nominee can do dramatic work with ease, more recently she has been showing that she’s just as adept at comedy, delivering memorable turns in “Easy A,” “Friends With Benefits,” and as Tammy One in a fantastic appearance on “Parks & Recreation” (sidenote: last week’s episode was one of the best in the show’s history). But for her next role, Clarkson is returning to drama and putting herself in the hands of a rising director.
Zal Batmanglij turned heads at Sundance this winter with “Sound Of My Voice,” and he’s quickly striking while the iron is hot, teaming up once again with that film’s co-writer and star Brit Marling for the eco-terrorist thriller “The East.” The project has already attracted a great lineup including Alexander Skarsgard, Ellen Page and Toby Kebbell to tell the story a female security agent (Marling) who goes undercover in an anarchist terrorist group, but winds up falling for the leader (Skarsgard). Clarkson would play Marling’s boss, with Page as the leader’s ex-lover and curiously, Kebbell as a doctor with Parkinson’s-like symptoms caused by a tainted drug.
It will be interesting to see Clarkson shift gears once again, but her veteran presence in the cast adds another dimension to this already compelling project. Filming begins soon with Fox Searchlight backing “The East” for a 2012 release. [Variety]
