Patricia Highsmith‘s novels have been the source of several incredible film adaptations over the years, including “Strangers On A Train,” “The American Friend,” and “The Talented Mr. Ripley,” among others. Now it’s time for the novelist’s life to get the big-screen treatment. Deadline reports that a biopic about Highsmith has hit the Cannes market on the Croisette, and Shailene Woodley will star as the “poet of apprehension.”
“The Murderous Ms. Highsmith” will also star Cara Delevingne and Noémie Merlant as the writer’s companions in the upcoming film. The biopic will reimagine a formative period in the Highsmith’s life as she writes her first Tom Ripley novel, navigates two doomed relationships with women, and finds her imagination roused by gruesome real-life murders. So basically, it’s Patricia Highsmith’s life as a horror movie.
Alexandra Pechman will direct the film, her feature debut. Meanwhile, Killer Films, who produced the 2015 Highsmith adaptation “Carol,” will also produce “Ms. Highsmith.” Christine Vachon and Gabriel Mayers lead the production team there. Also attached: cinematographer Laura Merians Goncalves, who just shot Prime Video‘s “Dead Ringers” remake series. So, a female-heavy project all around. Shooting for the film will get underway in Italy later this year.
As for the film’s presence at the Cannes Market, Memento launched sales for it this week. UTA Independent Film Group, Hyperion Talent, and 2AM handle the film domestically. “This is such a unique way to explore someone’s legacy, while implementing their world into their life story,” Memento, a Paris-based company said in a press release about the film. “The script goes from idyllic Italian settings to gruesome murder fantasies with a strong inspiration from her work. This is a new take to the biopic genre that will definitely leave a mark on the audience.”
Woodley adds “Ms. Highsmith” to her lists of other upcoming roles which includes “Killer Heat, “Dumb Money, “Robots,” and Michael Mann‘s “Ferrari.” As for Delevingne, she’ll star next in the new season of “American Horror Story.” She also recently starred in “Only Murders in The Building,” Prime Video’s “Carnival Row,” and Hulu‘s “Planet Sex.” Merlant broke out as an actress thanks to Céline Sciamma‘s “Portrait Of A Lady On Fire,” with recent roles in “Tár” and “Paris, 13th District.”
Highsmith is one of America’s most uncompromising and caustic woman novelists, notorious for her carefree lifestyle, open lesbianism, and rancourous behavior. Let’s hope Shailene Woodley does her justice in “The Murderous Ms. Highsmith.”
