The beautiful English ingénue Rosamund Pike first drew notice Stateside in 2005's Pride and Prejudice, where she played the loving Jane Bennet opposite the Oscar-nominated Keira Knightley. Though roles followed in the Anthony Hopkins/Ryan Gosling vehicle Fracture and the Oscar-nominated biopic An Education, Pike hasn't yet blown up. Coming up she'll appear in supporting parts in Tom Cruise's Jack Reacher and Simon Pegg's Hector and the Search for Happiness, but thankfully a leading role is in her future, thanks to a forthcoming drama out of Australia.
In their first joint venture Mushroom Pictures and Morrissey Molloy Entertainment are producing an adaptation of Steven Carroll’s novel The Art Of The Engine Driver penned by Matt Cameron. The film, rechristened Violet Town, centers on a married couple attending a New Years Eve Party in 1957 Melbourne. But what should be a night of joy and frivolity turns dramatic when secrets buried within their suburban lives are unearthed. Deadline reports Pike and Guy Pearce will play the spouses with skeletons in their closet. Bryan Brown, best known as Tom Cruise's buddy in Cocktail, is also attached, though his role is unknown. Mark Joffe, who directed the charming Janeane Garofalo rom-com The MatchMaker, will helm.
Pike has a dazzling screen presence, and though her roles to date have mostly been small, she's been memorable and moving in them. Hopefully this will mark the beginning of her becoming a bigger presence in cinema, meaning Hollywood should catch on to what a catch she is.
Notably, The Art Of The Engine Driver is the first in a trilogy of books. However, it's unknown whether Mushroom Pictures and Morrissey Molloy Entertainment have any intention of adapting the other two, The Gift of Speed and The Time We Have Taken.
Violet Town is slated to roll into production in the summer of 2013.
