After occupying Cannes with his newest, yet-to-be-released-stateside picture, Jeune & Jolie, the quick-working François Ozon (Potiche, Swimming Pool) has found both his next picture and its central cast. According to Variety, plans are well underway for production on The New Girlfriend, an adaptation of the first story in Ruth Rendell‘s eponymous omnibus — one specifically concerning “Claire, a young woman who falls into depression after her best girlfriend’s death.” Ozon‘s picture, it would seem, finds its “kick” with the introduction of some “unexpected secret about her late friend’s husband,” in turn giving our central character “the strength to embrace life.”
Anaïs Demoustier (Thérèse, Elles), Romain Duris (Mood Indigo, Populaire), and Raphaël Personnaz (Anna Karenina) have been tapped to headline The New Girlfriend, while Mandarin Cinema and Films Distribution will handle producing and sales duties, respectively. All in all, what appears to be a fine matching of director and leads; hopefully, the material engages this time out as much as Ozon‘s two prior outings.
Does the first news of Girlfriend bode well for Ozon? Any thoughts from these first details?