One of the major releases of the year will be Oscar nominee Lenny Abrahamson's (Room) latest feature The Little Stranger.
The Little Stranger is a chilling ghost story written by BAFTA nominee Lucinda Coxon (The Danish Girl) adapted from Waters’ novel. It tells the story of Dr Faraday, the son of a housemaid, who has built a life of quiet respectability as a country doctor. During the long hot summer of 1948, he is called to a patient at Hundreds Hall, where his mother once worked. The Hall has been home to the Ayres family for more than two centuries. But it is now in decline and its inhabitants - mother, son and daughter - are haunted by something more ominous than a dying way of life. When he takes on his new patient, Faraday has no idea how closely, and how terrifyingly, the family’s story is about to become entwined with his own.
The film stars Domhnall Gleeson (Frank) as Dr Faraday, Golden Globe winner Ruth Wilson (The Affair) as Caroline Ayres, BAFTA winner Will Poulter (The Revenant) as Roderick Ayres, and Oscar nominee Charlotte Rampling (45 Years) as Mrs Ayres.
Director of Photography is Ole Birkeland (The Crown), with costumes by Steven Noble (BAFTA nominee for The Theory of Everything) and hair and make-up by Sian Grigg (Oscar nominee for The Revenant). Simon Elliott (The Iron Lady and BAFTA TV winner for Bleak House) is Production Designer.
The Little Stranger is produced by Potboiler Productions' Gail Egan (The Constant Gardener) and Andrea Calderwood (The Last King of Scotland), and Element Pictures' Ed Guiney (Room). It is executive produced by Cameron McCracken for Pathé, Daniel Battsek for Film4, Andrew Lowe for Element Pictures, Celine Haddad for the Irish Film Board and Tim O’Shea for Ingenious. Pathé will distribute the film in the UK, France and Switzerland, with Focus Features in North America, and Universal Pictures International elsewhere.
IRISH FILM PREVIEW 2018
CinÉireann / January 2018 65
THE LITTLE STRANGER
DIR: LENNY ABRAHAMSON
PRO: ELEMENT PICTURES
TBC