Quirky director Azazel Jacobs (Mozart in the Jungle) will be directing French Exit, a new surrealist comedy with a star-studded cast. Michelle Pfeiffer will star as a once-wealthy widow who doesn’t plan to outlive the lifespan of her bank account. Her plan fails and she decides to spend the last of her money moving from Manhattan to Paris with her son Malcolm, played by Lucas Hedges, and her dead husband embodied through their family cat (Tracy Letts).
The film is based on a book by Patrick deWitt, who also adapted the screenplay. Another of deWitt’s books, The Sisters Brothers, was also brought to the screen recently and starred John C. Reilly, Joaquin Phoenix, and Jake Gyllenhaal.
Pfeiffer was recently seen in Ant-Man and the Wasp and Avengers: Endgame. Hedges became a breakout star after an award season run with roles in Manchester by the Sea and Lady Bird followed up by Boy Erased. Letts also had a role in Lady Bird as well as The Post, and has already worked with Jacobs as a director in The Lovers.
The film is produced by Rocket Science and Elevation Pictures. Sales will begin at the upcoming Cannes Film Festival, which starts this month.