In a time when studios are increasingly worried about risky, challenging prospects for films, it’s heartening to see someone looking to change things up a little. Kudos, then, to Joel Edgerton and Jessica Chastain for signing on to the intriguing double bill of The Disappearance Of Eleanor Rigby: His and The Disappearance Of Eleanor Rigby: Hers.
No, we haven’t suffered some huge copy and paste error – the two standalone films will tell one story, but from a pair of perspectives. Ned Benson wrote the two scripts and is on to direct both movies.
The spine of the drama will follow a married couple in New York who hit a rough patch in their relationship. Edgerton will play a restaurant owner, and Chastain will be his wife, who decides to go back to college. There’s a chance that William Hurt could also sign on, as he’s in talks for the movie.
Myriad Pictures is the company backing the films, and the company’s CEO seems enthused by the idea, as expressed in his statement, picked up by Deadline: “Ned has created rich and engaging characters. They are complex, and it is unique to have two different scripts to tell the story. It doesn’t matter which script you read first, you absolutely want to read the other perspective.” Still, he admits that there will be challenges. “We have to make both films work on their own, both for the buyers but also for the audiences. Together these films will describe a fully, more complete look at these characters and their lives.”