Film will shoot in Ireland next year…
‘Zero Dark Thirty’ star Jessica Chastain has closed a deal to take the lead in a feature adaptation of Irish playwright, novelist and poet Sebastian Barry’s award-winning novel ‘The Secret Scripture.’ The novel, published in 2008, is officially described as follows:
“As a young woman, Roseanne McNulty was one of the most beautiful and beguiling girls in County Sligo, Ireland. Now, as her hundredth year draws near, she is a patient at Roscommon Regional Mental Hospital, and she decides to record the events of her life.
As Roseanne revisits her past, hiding the manuscript beneath the floorboards in her bedroom, she learns that Roscommon Hospital will be closed in a few months and that her caregiver, Dr. Grene, has been asked to evaluate the patients and decide if they can return to society. Roseanne is of particular interest to Dr. Grene, and as he researches her case he discovers a document written by a local priest that tells a very different story of Roseanne’s life than what she recalls. As doctor and patient attempt to understand each other, they begin to uncover long-buried secrets about themselves.
Set against an Ireland besieged by conflict, The Secret Scripture is an epic story of love, betrayal, and unavoidable tragedy, and a vivid reminder of the stranglehold that the Catholic Church had on individual lives for much of the twentieth century.”
Joining Chastain for the adaptation will be Academy Award winner Vanessa Redgrave (‘Julia,’ ‘Howard’s End’), who is set to portray the older version of Roseanne.
Noel Pearson (‘Tara Road,’ ‘My Left Foot,’ ‘The Field’, ‘Dancing at Lughnasa’) is on board to produce the feature, which was adapted by late Irish screenwriter Johnny Ferguson (‘Gangster No 1’).
Production is scheduled for June in Sligo and Wicklow. A director has yet to be announced.