Natalie Portman joins the ranks of caliber actresses to HBO with THE DAYS OF ABANDONMENT, now in development. She joins the ranks with such actresses of note who have brought their talents to HBO like Meryl Streep (BIG LITTLE LIES, ANGELS IN AMERICA) Laura Dern (BIG LITTLE LIES, THE TALE, ENLIGHTENED), Nicole Kidman (THE UNDOING, BIG LITTLE LIES, HEMINGWAY & GELLHORN), Helen Mirren (CATHERINE THE GREAT, ELIZABETH I) and Kate Winslet (MARE OF EASTTOWN, MILDRED PIERCE).
Portman joins the list with the work THE DAYS OF ABANDONMENT by Elena Ferrante. It is a work she is set to star in and executive produce. We, of course, already enjoy Ferrante’s work on HBO in MY BRILLIANT FRIEND. This latest adaptation revolves around Tess, played by Portman. When Tess, a woman who abandoned her own dreams for a stable home life, is in turn abandoned by her husband, her world is thrown off its axis. Adapted from Ferrante’s tour-de-force novel of the same name, this story is a visceral, no-holds-barred journey into the mind of a woman in crisis that confronts the norms of motherhood and female identity as Tess traverses the darkest reaches of her own psyche. Amazon gives us this blurb –
The Days of Abandonment is the gripping story of an Italian woman’s experiences after being suddenly left by her husband after fifteen years of marriage. With two young children to care for, Olga finds it more and more difficult to do the things she used to: keep a spotless house, cook meals with creativity and passion, refrain from using obscenities. After running into her husband with his much-younger new lover in public, she cannot even refrain from assaulting him physically.
In a “raging, torrential voice” (The New York Times), Olga conveys her journey from denial to devastating emptiness―and when she finds herself literally trapped within the four walls of their high-rise apartment, she is forced to confront her ghosts, the potential loss of her own identity, and the possibility that life may never return to normal.
The Days of Abandonment is the gripping story of an Italian woman’s experiences after being suddenly left by her husband after fifteen years of marriage. With two young children to care for, Olga finds it more and more difficult to do the things she used to: keep a spotless house, cook meals with creativity and passion, refrain from using obscenities. After running into her husband with his much-younger new lover in public, she cannot even refrain from assaulting him physically. The film, which is currently in pre-production, hails from writer-director Maggie Betts (Novitiate), Portman and her MountainA Films, Maven Screen Media, Len Amato’s Crash & Salvage and Fandango. Ferrante also serves as an executive producer.
We welcome Natalie Portman to HBO and now have to wonder if the brand will be bringing all of Ferrante’s work to the Warner property.
(Source: Deadline)
