Russell Crowe one an Oscar for playing a mentally ill man in A Beautiful Mind, so he may be hoping for more gongs with a new film he’s just signed up for. Variety reports he’ll take the lead in the drama Fathers and Daughters, for director Gabriele Muccino (The Pursuit of Happyness).
The movie is about the relationship a famous author and widow (Crowe), who struggles to raise his daughter while coping with a mental illness. The plot alternates between the daughter’s childhood and her life as a 30-year-old adult in New York, dealing with issues that stem from her unconventional upbringing. The studio is apparently eyeing a “major actress” to play the daughter, although there’s no news on who that might be.
Gabriele Muccino commented, “This is a performance-driven movie, and therefore I couldn’t ask for a better actor than Russell to deliver this intensely emotional drama. It’s edgy, heart-wrenching, and uplifting at the same time. To me, it feels like a classic American movie that recalls the great character dramas of the 70s like Kramer vs. Kramer and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.”
Shooting is scheduled to begin in December.