Kate Winslet, Diane Keaton and Mia Wasikowska have been cast in Blackbird, an English-language remake of Bille August‘s 2014 Danish film Silent Heart. The film will be directed by Roger Michell (Notting Hill, My Cousin Rachel) and penned by the original movie’s screenwriter Christian Thorpe.
The film is described as a drama, and revolves around a terminally ill mother who brings her family together for one last weekend before she commits suicide. Keaton will play the mother, Lily, while Winslet and Wasikowska will play her daughters.
These are the kind of roles not often written for women anymore, since the middle class of movies has crumbled since the 90s/early 2000s and studios focus on either huge budget blockbusters or very cheap indies. The mid-budget drama fronted by big movie stars is mostly a thing of the past, but this has a chance to make a claim to bring those back.
Blackbird has some similarities to another film that starred a talented triptych of women, 2002’s The Hours, and if it can have the same kind of positive critical reception (and awards buzz) then it will be considered a big success. Shooting is scheduled to begin in August in London, while a release date has not currently been set.
#Peace.Love.Blackbird
