After a major last year with 20th Century Women and The Neon Demon, Elle Fanning‘s streak looks to continue into 2017. This week we got the fantastic first trailer for The Beguiled and she’s also leading How to Talk to Girls at Parties, but that’s not all. The actress is portraying the legendary author Mary Shelley in a new drama and the first look has arrived.
Aptly titled Mary Shelley (previously going by A Storm in the Stars), the biopic about the Frankenstein author comes from director Haifaa al-Mansour, who made a strong impression with her debut Wadjda just a few years back. Also starring Douglas Booth, Bel Powley, Maisie Williams, Joanne Froggatt and Tom Sturridge, the film depicts the early years of the author as she begins a relationship with poet Percy Bysshe Shelley.
With footage screening at Berlinale for buyers, hopefully this gets picked up soon. In the meantime, check out new images above and below (with one from THR), as well as a synopsis and a one-hour documentary about the author.
Mary is a rebellious and outspoken teenager. When she meets the poet Percy Shelley, there’s a spark of attraction between the two outsiders who feel trapped within polite society. Percy is contrary and selfish, talking of sexual freedom and progressive ideas that are beyond the boundaries of their age. For sheltered Mary, it’s love at first sight.
