Another Margaret Atwood adaptation is on the way, this time with Lynne Ramsay at the helm. Deadline confirms the “You Were Never Really Here” filmmaker is directing “hot Cannes market package” “Stone Mattress,” based on Atwood’s New Yorker short story of the same name. Julianne Moore and Sandra Oh will star.
Described as a “blue-chip revenge thriller” and set on a cruise ship in the Arctic, “Stone Mattress” centers on Verna (Moore), “a 60-year-old retired physiotherapist and twice a widow, who embarks on a luxurious cruise into the magnificent and silently thawing Arctic Northwest Passage, populated by a crowd of privileged influencers and wealthy retirees,” per the source. “On the ship, Verna meets the friendly and charming Grace (Oh), and the seemingly ordinary Bob (casting in process), an unaccompanied man in his mid-sixties who inherited a family business. Although he doesn’t have a fraction of Verna’s elegance and wit, Bob tries to seduce her. But he might not be the foolish yet harmless man he initially appears to be, and his presence troubles Verna. As wounds and humiliations from her past resurface, the smooth atmosphere of the cruise will be disturbed by a shocking act.”
Filming is expected to take place on location in Greenland and Iceland this September. Ramsay penned the script with Tom Townend, and JoAnne Sellar (“Phantom Thread”) is producing. Amazon will distribute the project domestically, while Studiocanal is handling France, U.K., Germany, and Australia/New Zealand territories.
“I first read Margaret Atwood when I was a teenager, and her work has gripped me ever since,” Ramsay said. “She is simply one of the most intelligent, prophetic, and engaging writers around and ‘Stone Mattress’ is another perfect illustration of that. I was immediately gripped by the way it framed the deeply buried trauma of a post-menopausal woman – an age group we hear from all too rarely – through the dynamic and multifaceted character of Verna.”
The director continued, “From its tongue-in-cheek humor to its moments of icy vengeance and delicate portrayal of an emotional repression specific to the boomer generation, it is a story I’ve wanted to materialize on-screen since my first reading. With the current repeal in women’s rights across the world, particularly regarding the overturning of Roe v Wade in America, this story, with its themes of stolen motherhood and unaccounted sexual abuse, feels more important than ever,” Ramsay added. “The opportunity to shoot in the Arctic, on the frontline of the most urgent threat to our world and on the verge of irredeemable transformation, will lend the story another layer of devastation. Just like the icecaps that melt to reveal ancient histories, ‘Stone Mattress’ sees years of Verna’s pain and fury thaw before our eyes to expose the raw emotion underneath.”
“We Need to Talk About Kevin,” “Morvern Callar,” and “Ratcatcher” are among Ramsay’s other credits. She won a BAFTA for the latter as well as for the short film “Swimmer.” She received the Best Director BIFA for “We Need to Talk About Kevin” and BIFA’s Douglas Hickox Award for “Ratcatcher.” At Cannes, she has previously been honored with the Best Screenplay prize (“You Were Never Really Here”), the C.I.C.A.E. Award and Award of the Youth (both for “Morvern Callar”), and two Best Short Film prizes (“Gasman” and “Small Deaths”).
Moore won an Oscar for her leading turn in “Still Alice,” and snagged nods for “Far from Heaven,” “The Hours,” “The End of the Affair,” and “Boogie Nights.” She took home an Emmy for her work in “Game Change.” “Lisey’s Story” and “Dear Evan Hansen” are among her recent credits, and her latest, mother-son dramedy “When You Finish Saving the World,” is screening at Cannes.
The fourth and final season of Oh’s beloved spy thriller “Killing Eve” concluded last month. Her other recent credits include “Turning Red” and “Umma.” Oh is a 12-time Emmy nominee, having netted multiple nods for “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Killing Eve” as well as Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for “SNL” and Outstanding Variety Special (Live) for hosting the Golden Globes. With her 2019 Golden Globe victory for “Killing Eve,” Oh became the first woman of Asian descent in 39 years to win for best actress in a TV drama.
Atwood’s novels “The Handmaid’s Tale” and “Alias Grace” have both been adapted for the small screen. The former will return for its fifth season on Hulu, with a premiere TBD, while the latter is a Netflix/CBC miniseries. Hulu has also announced plans to develop Atwood’s sequel to “The Handmaid’s Tale,” “The Testaments,” for TV.
