Lynne Ramsay To Adapt Margaret Atwood's Stone Mattress With Julianne Moore And Sandra Oh Set To Star
Lynne Ramsay, known for directing intense bangers like "We Need to Talk About Kevin" and "You Were Never Really Here," will be taking up a Margaret Atwood adaptation with Julianne Moore and Sandra Oh set to star (via The Hollywood Reporter). Ramsay will be adapting a particular tale from Atwood's "Stone Mattress," which is a short story collection consisting of entries such as "The Dead Hand Loves You," and "Revenant," among others.
Amazon will be producing the project, while Film 4 and StudioCanal are in negotiation stages for collaboration at the moment. It is expected for StudioCanal to launch the film's sales in Cannes.
'A captivating revenge thriller'
The short story that Ramsay is set to adapt, also dubbed "Stone Mattress," revolves around a woman named Verna (Moore), an elderly retired physiotherapist, who decides to go on a luxurious cruise heading towards the Arctic Northwest Passage. The entire affair is obviously posh, as Verna is surrounded by affluent people, and she happens to meet the "friendly and charming" Grace (Oh), and Bob, a man in his mid-sixties. Although Bob does not possess a tenth of Verna's grace and wit, he makes advances on her, and his presence is something Verna finds troubling.
Atwood's short story follows the same premise, in which Verna is also a widow many times over, and all of her late husbands had dropped dead mysteriously due to undefined natural causes. Verna's encounter with Bob is unsettling — although he seems harmless, his presence unlocks a repressed memory of assault and abuse, along with the innate need to exact vengeance. The film seems to be following a similar trajectory, and it will be exciting to see how Ramsay will treat the subject matter.
Ramsay spoke to THR about the importance of adapting this particular story at this juncture:
"With the current repeal in women's rights across the world, particularly regarding the overturning of Roe v Wade in America, this story, with its themes of stolen motherhood and unaccounted sexual abuse, feels more important than ever.
The opportunity to shoot in the Arctic, on the frontline of the most urgent threat to our world and on the verge of irredeemable transformation, will lend the story another layer of devastation. Just like the icecaps that melt to reveal ancient histories, Stone Mattress sees years of Verna's pain and fury thaw before our eyes to expose the raw emotion underneath."
Filming will start in Greenland and Iceland in September, and the film is being produced by JoAnne Sellar ("There Will Be Blood") and John Lesher ("Birdman") . Dylan Weathered ("The Pale Blue Eye") and Daniel Lupi ("Killers Of The Flower Moon", "West Side Story") are set to executive produce.
"Stone Mattress" does not have a release date attached to it at the moment.