Doctor Who star Matt Smith cast in new film alongside Bill Nighy
The film is being penned by Women Talking's Sarah Polley.
Any project with Doctor Who icon Matt Smith attached is worthy of our attention - but one that includes a British screen legend in Bill Nighy and one of the best up-and-coming British screen talents in George MacKay? This feels especially exciting.
Big screen drama & Sons has emerged as a hot topic from the Cannes Film Festival, as revealed by Deadline, with the English-language movie debut of Pablo Trapero creating plenty of buzz in the south of France.
Penned by the Oscar-winning Sarah Polley from David Gilbert’s best-selling novel of the same name, the talent involved in this one is almost too much - and there’s more to come.
Rounding out the cast is A Quiet Place’s Noah Jupe, while the producers behind the BBC’s lockdown saviour Staged are behind the project. It’s safe to say we’re firmly on board.
And that’s before we get to the intriguing synopsis, which reads: "Andrew is a novelist best known to the world as AN Dyer. He wrote his first book when he was 27 and it became an instant classic, selling 45m copies and creating a cult around its elusive author.
More like this
"Andrew wakes up one morning convinced that he is about to die. He knows that with his time on Earth dwindling, he needs to set right the major relationships of his life, and so he summons his sons to be with him.
"It’s been almost 20 years since an ‘incident’ tore apart the Dyer home. An incident that has a name – Andy."
Piqued your interest? Wait until you hear more about Andy. "Andy’s the reason his world-famous father, Andrew, no longer speaks to his adult-age sons, Richard and Jamie, nor to his ex-wife, Isabel," the synopsis continues.
"However, when his sons arrive, laden with their own problems, Andrew does not seek their forgiveness, as they expected. Instead, he tells them something so wild it couldn’t possibly be true. Or could it?"
Cue the suspense.
By entering your details, you are agreeing to our terms and conditions and privacy policy. You can unsubscribe at any time.
After becoming one of the most successful filmmakers in his native Argentina, & Sons sounds a suitably meaty English-language debut for Trapero to dig into, after he broke records at the box office with 2015’s El Clan and picked up a Critics Prize at the 1999 Venice International Film Festival for his first feature, Mundo Grúa.
Speaking of the drama, he told Deadline: "& Sons tells the story of a collection of people who are all flawed and trying to find peace with one another, although struggling to do so. The unexpected surreal twist makes things beautifully more complicated.
"The sensational cast, that I am thrilled to be working with, is a dream come true. They are the perfect ensemble to tackle and elevate these characters in the most powerful way, honouring the equally potent writing from Sarah."
The production schedule for this one is yet to be confirmed, as the team behind the project aim to secure sales deals before Cannes comes to a close at the end of next week.
Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
