Since its release in 2009, “Jasper Jones,” by Craig Silvey, has been called Australia’s “To Kill Mockingbird.” Now the big-screen adaptation of the story is coming via director Rachel Perkins, and the full trailer has just hit the web.
Set in 1969, “Jasper Jones” tells the story of a girl who “goes missing in an isolated and racially divided Australian town. Expecting to be blamed for her murder, 14-year-old Indigenous outcast Jasper Jones (Aaron McGrath) enlists schoolmate Charlie Bucktin (Levi Miller) to help him solve the crime,” The Guardian writes.
“I read the book very quickly, because it’s such a page turner, but it’s also got something to say about the country and the way that things sometimes don’t change,” Perkins told The Daily Review. “It was a text that really resonated with me — it was beautifully written, and I thought the murder mystery was such a great device to talk about these coming of age stories, and the realization that things aren’t necessarily right and justice sometimes doesn’t prevail.”
Australian staples Toni Collette and Hugo Weaving co-star. Collette plays Charlie’s mom, Ruth, who seemingly begins to unravel throughout the stressful events of the story, and Weaving plays “Mad Jack Lionel,” this story’s version of Boo Radley.
“Jasper Jones” will hit cinemas in Australian on March 2, 2017.
