Peter Bogdanovich is a fantastic director. His 1971 film The Last Picture Show is an absolutely brilliant American classic that earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Director. He followed that up with Paper Moon in 1973, which gained notoriety for earning ten-year-old Tatum O’Neal an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.; the youngest person to win the award. But, regardless of his success as a director, I can’t help but associate Bogdanovich with his work in front of the camera in shows like The Sopranos and How I Met Your Mother. He’s demonstrated a comfort level in both drama and comedy and proven to be very natural and authentic as a performer.
It’s for this reason that I am not surprised by the announcement from The Hollywood Reporter that Bogdanovich has landed a role in the upcoming thriller The Healer. What is surprising is that Bogdanovich will be playing a character based on the Greek mythological figure Charon. Charon was the ferryman who transported souls across the River Styx and into the underworld dominion of Hades. It’s not that I believe this role to be outside his wheelhouse or that he’s ill equipped to play the part. In fact, I’m looking forward to seeing if he’s able to lend his brand of dry, self-effacing humor to such a grim role. I just wonder how Greek mythology is going to play into this plot.
The Healer is about teenage twins (Orphan’s Isabelle Fuhrman and Super 8’s Joel Courtney) who manage to get lost in a haunted forest during a camping trip with their father (James Le Gros). I wonder if incarnations of other characters from Greek mythology will turn up in that forest. The plot sounds like an interesting, if extremely basic, story construct that will offer plenty of opportunities for including many fantastical creatures, mythic figures, and…Osacar-nominated directors apparently.
The Healer begins shooting this month in North Carolina.
