If you asked to us to find two talented people to get together to take on an adaptation of a Patricia Highsmith novel, we couldn’t do much better than pairing Viggo Mortensen with “Drive” writer Hossein Amini. Well, it looks like that lightbulb went off in somebody’s head because 24 Frames reports that’s exactly what’s happening, as the duo are developing a big screen take on “The Two Faces of January.”
Hossein is currently on fire. Of course, “Drive” is getting phenomenal notices already, he’s recently been hired to rewrite “Snow White And The Huntsman,” he’s got Keanu Reeves‘ “47 Ronin” under his belt and he’s also taken a pen to the Jack Ryan reboot “Moscow.” So with all that buzz behind him, Hossein is using the opportunity to make ‘January’ his directorial debut with Mortensen to take on one of the lead roles.
So what’s it all about? The thriller “centers on an American con artist, his wife, and a stranger they meet while traveling in Athens. After one of them kills a Greek police officer, the trio enter a high-stakes game with the authorities and one another as they attempt to cover up the crime and flee the country.” The film is in very early stages and is still getting financing in place so no word yet on when this might move forward, or who is being courted for the two other main roles. But obviously, if it can come near the critical and popular success of “The Talented Mr. Ripley,” there should be many folks willing to take that gamble.
Mortensen takes it slow and tends to be selective with his roles (somewhat ironically, he was attached early on to ‘Huntsman’ before dropping out in the spring; he was also courted for “Man Of Steel“) but if he’s interested this early on, we’d wager he’s feeling pretty strongly about the material. More to come we’re sure, but after two long years since “The Road,” Mortensen will be seen later this year in “A Dangerous Method” and “On The Road.”
Check out the synopsis of the book from Amazon below:
Three of them are waiting. Rydal Keener is waiting for something exciting to happen in his grubby little Athens hotel. At forty-odd, Chester MacFarland has been waiting much longer, expecting his life of stock manipulation and fraud to catch up with him. And Colette, Chester’s wife, is waiting for something altogether different.
After a nasty little incident in the hotel, they all wait together. As the stakes—and the tension—in theirthree-cornered waiting game mount, they learn that while passports and silence can be bought, other things can cost as much as your life.