After last week’s announcement that Fernando Meirelles’ 360 will open the London Film Festival, the closing movie has just been revealed and it’ll be The Deep Blue Sea. Before you get too excited at the thought that Samuel L Jackson getting bitten in half by a shark in Renny Harlin’s 1999 flick is finally getting the recognition it deserves, this is actually a new movie, which sadly has no super-intelligent sharks in it at all.
Tirected by Terence Davies (Distant Voices, Still Lives) The Deep Blue Sea marks his return to fiction feature making following his much loved documentary Of Time and the City. In the film, which is adapted from Terence Rattigans classic play, Hester Collyer (Rachel Weisz) leads a privileged life in 1950s London as the beautiful wife of high court judge Sir William Collyer (Simon Russell Beale). To the shock of those around her, she walks out on her marriage to move in with young ex-RAF pilot, Freddie Page (Tom Hiddleston), with whom she has fallen passionately in love.
Sandra Hebron, the Festivals Artistic Director comments: Its a great pleasure to be able to close the Festival with this exquisite new feature from one of our most cherished directors. Terence Davies is a film maker who the BFI has supported from the very beginnings of his career, and in Terence Rattigans centenary year, this beautifully directed and acted film is the perfect closing night film.
The film will get the Closing Night Gala on October 27th, ahead of its released on November 25th.