Having given cinema the likes of The Talented Mr. Ripley and this month's The Two Faces Of January, the novels of Patricia Highsmith are a constant well of material for filmmakers. The latest director to tackle one of her books is Andy Goddard, who has Patrick Wilson, Jessica Biel, Imogen Poots and Toby Jones lined up to star in an untitled film based on Highsmith’s **The Blunderer.
Whatever the film ends up being called, it’ll find Wilson as a successful architect named Walter Stackhouse, who enjoys his early 1960s New York life and marriage to the beautiful Clara (Biel). But Walter’s obsession with an unsolved murder may be his undoing, as he digs deeper into the case and comes to the attention of a clever killer (Jones). Soon everything he holds dear is at risk, and his lust for another woman (Poots) threatens to derail his marriage even as he puts his life in danger.
Susan Boyd adapted the script from Highsmith’s book, which she published in 1953, between Strangers On A Train (itself now steaming through development for a second adaptation) and Ripley. Goddard is set to start the cameras rolling later this year.