Helen Mirrenwill star as acclaimed authorPatricia HighsmithinSwitzerland, an upcoming thriller depicting a fictional encounter with a persistent literary agent. The film will be directed byAnton Corbijn, his first feature in eight years.Deadline reportsthat Mirren will take on the role of the reclusive author, best-known for her novels about amoral con artist Tom Ripley, in an adaptation ofJoanna Murray-Smith’s stage play of the same name.
In it, Highsmith, while living in self-imposed exile in Switzerland, meets with a literary agent who attempts to persuade her to write one last Ripley novel; she tries to scare him away, but the duo eventually find themselves in collaboration, creating a twisted world of their own. Corbijn exclusively revealed details about the new film to Collider inan interview last month, telling editor-in-chiefSteve Weintraubthat his long-awaited next film would beSwitzerland, a fictional feature about Highsmith with “biographical elements in there”, and that it would film in Europe late this year.
The famously misanthropic Highsmith was a prolific writer of psychological thrillers, which have been fertile ground for Hollywood adaptations. The Ripley novels have been adapted numerous times, most famously in 1999’sThe Talented Mr. Ripley, starringMatt Damonin the title role. Her other works have been adapted byAlfred Hitchcock(in 1950’sStrangers on a Train, featuringFarley GrangerandRobert Walker),Todd Haynes(in 2015’sCarol, withCate BlanchettandRooney Mara), andAdrian Lyne(in 2022’sDeep Water, starringBen AffleckandAna de Armas).
RELATED:10 Patricia Highsmith Adaptations to Watch After You’ve Seen ‘Deep Water’
An acclaimed actor with a career that stretches back to the ’60s, Mirren won an Oscar in 2007 for her performance asQueen Elizabeth IIinThe Queen. Recently seen in theYellowstoneprequel1923, she will next appear inFast X,Shazam: Fury of the Gods, and theGolda MeirbiopicGolda. Corbijn is a photographer and music video director who made his feature directorial debut withControlin 2007, a biopic of late Joy Division frontmanIan Curtis. He subsequently directedThe American, withGeorge Clooney, andA Most Wanted Man, featuring one of the latePhilip Seymour Hoffman’s final performances.Switzerlandwill be his first feature since 2015’sLife, starringRobert PattinsonandDane DeHaan.
Switzerlandwill be produced byGaby Tana,Troy LumandAndrew Masonfor Brouhaha Entertainment, andJim RobisonandKurt Martinfor Lunar Pictures. Murray-Smith will adapt her play for the screen.
FilmNation Entertainment will be shoppingSwitzerlandat next week’s European Film Market. Stay tuned to Collider for future updates.
