IRISH FILM PREVIEW 2018
CinÉireann / January 2018 75
THE WIDOW
DIR: NEIL JORDAN
PRO: METROPOLITAN FILMS
TBC
Legendary Irish director Neil Jordan's new feature film is The Widow, which was shot in Dublin (including at the Mansion House, pictured) and Ardmore Studios late last year.
The cast is led by French icon Isabelle Huppert (Elle) and Hollywood stars Chloe Grace Moretz (Let Me In) and Maika Monroe (It Follows), as well as Colm Feore (Thor), Zawe Ashton (Nocturnal Animals), and frequent Jordan collaborator Stephen Rea.
The film follows Frances (Moretz), a young woman who is new to Manhattan, and focuses on her unlikely friendship with an elderly widow (Huppert) whose motives are gradually revealed to be sinister. Rea plays a private investigator hired to investigate the possibly nefarious intentions of the widow and Feore plays the estranged father of Moretz’s character. Ashton plays a mysterious woman with important information about the widow’s past, while Monroe plays Frances’ protective best friend.
Rea has worked with Jordan before, most notably on The Crying Game, for which Jordan received an Academy Award for best original screenplay and Rea received a best actor nomination.
Jordan has co-written the film with Ray Wright (The Crazies). Acclaimed Northern Irish cinematographer Seamus McGarvey is behind the camera, with Sidney Kimmel, John Penotti, Lawrence Bender, and James Flynn producing for Sidney Kimmel Entertainment, Lawrence Bender Productions and Little Wave Productions.