Many films and books that take place after society has crumbled try to tell large-scale stories where the fate of entire regions or countries is at risk, and nuanced characters are replaced with carbon copied people who rarely screw up what they’re doing. On the opposite end of the spectrum is Jean Hegland’s subdued novel Into the Forest, a novel that will soon be getting a feature adaptation from director Patricia Rozema (Kit Kittredge: An American Girl. The narrative is largely centered on two sisters, now set to be played by Evan Rachel Wood and Ellen Page, which is as good an actress duo as one can hope for in that age range.
Into the Forest tells the story of Nell and Eva, two teens growing up in the forests of northern California, schooled at home and taught to follow their whims and wishes. Their lives are changed forever following the deaths of their parents and the degradation of the world around them, which falls victim to war, terrorism, erratic weather and an upended economy. Once the power goes out and fossil fuels are used up, the girls are forced to come to grips with the hardships of a life they were never taught how to live.
Though it sounds as if Hegland could have written this novel in the past couple of months, it was published back in 1996. The fact that it all still rings true, and will probably do so until America implodes, means the film already has relevance and star power going for it. The pressure is on Rozema to deliver a quality product, as the last film she made prior to Kit Kittredge was 1999’s romance Mansfield Park. THR, which announced the Wood and Page casting, makes no mention of a screenwriter, but it’s likely Rozema will be adapting the script herself.
Page recently finished filming Bryan Singer’s X-Men: Days of Future Past, and can be seen in this year’s crime drama The East from director Zal Batmanglij and Lynn Shelton’s Touchy Feely. Last month she signed on to become an action star in the comic adaptation Queen and Country.
Wood, who gave birth to a son this past July, is also hitting the action genre with Shia LaBeouf in Charlie Countryman, and will be hitting Justin Long in a different way in the romantic comedy A Case of You. She finished filming Andrew Fleming’s romantic comedy Barefoot a few months ago and will soon begin production on yet another rom-com, Gil Junger’s 10 Things I Hate About Life.
I always enjoy both of these actresses in everything they’re in, even the garbage, so I’m quite excited to see them play sisters. And until then, catch a pixelated version of Page in the trailer for the recently released psychological thriller video game Beyond: Two Souls.
