That sound you just heard was the collective sapphic gasp over the news that Shailene Woodley is set to star as queer author Patricia Highsmith, while Cara Delevingne and Noémie Merlant have been cast as her doomed lovers in an upcoming biopic about the iconic authoress.
Highsmith is best known for her novel The Price of Salt, on which the Oscar-nominated 2015 film Carol was based, as well as her plot-twisting queer thriller The Talented Mr. Ripley. But as it turns out, her life was every bit as queer and scandalous as the stories she wrote.
Now that story is headed to the big screen in the biopic The Murderous Mrs. Highsmith. The film will reportedly reimagine the author’s life through a horror lens, and focus on the time before she wrote Ripley. It will deep-dive into Highsmith’s psyche and explore her fascination with the gruesome aspects of death and, of course, her complicated and tumultuous love life.
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While Woodley’s role has been announced, Delevingne and Merlant’s remain a mystery. However, there is conjecture that they will play British physician Kathryn Hamill Cohen and sociologist Ellen Blumenthal Hill, both of whom had a strong influence on Highsmith in her youth.
Highsmith and Cohen spent a few weeks together while traveling in Italy in the 1940s. A decade later, she and Highsmith began a turbulent three-year relationship following the two meeting while in Munich.
Lending credence to these theories, a statement from Memento revealed that “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.”
“This is such a unique way to explore someone’s legacy, while implementing their world into their life story,” it added.
The film is set to be directed by Alexandra Pechman, making her feature film directorial debut, and is being produced by Killer Films, which previously adapted The Price of Salt.
No word yet on when this film will be released, but PRIDE will be keeping a close eye on this one.
