Acclaimed theater director Benedict Andrews is taking on quite the project for his feature-length film debut. Formerly titled "Blackbird,” and now known as “Una," the drama stars Rooney Mara and Ben Mendelsohn and is described as a "provocative love story about a taboo relationship." Adapted from Scottish playwright David Harrower’s Olivier Award-winning play, the movie centers on an illicit affair and its devastating consequences.
READ MORE: Interview: Ben Mendelsohn Talks ‘Mississippi Grind,’ ‘Blackbird,’ And ‘Rogue One’
Mara stars as the titular Una, and the cast also features Tara Fitzgerald and Riz Ahmed, the latter of which is on a roll, bagging great roles in "Nightcrawler," "Star Wars: Rogue One," and just recently landing a plum gig in the currently untitled "Bourne 5."
As for "Una," it’s a story of abuse and “damaged love," Andrews told Variety earlier this fall. “Something happened between them that marks them off from the rest of the world and fixes them in time, especially Una. What happened to her has marked her and the film in a way shows her attempt to retrieve her past.”
It sounds like rich material to mine, and perhaps it’s no wonder the material attracted heavyweights like Mara and Mendelsohn in the lead roles. Screen Daily has a new image from the film and also reports that "Macbeth" and "Slow West" composer Jed Kurzel has signed on to write the score. "Una" finished shooting earlier this year and is in the post-production stage. One might assume it could premiere at Sundance, but folks like Film4 usually have their eyes on bigger fish like Cannes or TIFF. We shall see.
