Anton Corbijn Directs Helen Mirren in New Patricia Highsmith Film

Anton Corbijn directed the new film A Talent for Murder, which centers on the life of writer Patricia Highsmith. Helen Mirren plays the author in the movie, which is currently in theaters. The plot follows a fictional romance between Highsmith and a man named Edward Ridgeway. Alden Ehrenreich plays Ridgeway, while Olivia Cooke portrays Clementine Harriet Balfour, a stranger he meets on a train.

In the story, Ridgeway works for a publisher. He is assigned the task of convincing Highsmith to write the sixth novel in the Tom Ripley series. Highsmith lives in the remote Swiss Alps during this period. The Ripley character is known as one of the most recognizable heroes of the 20th century.

The film depicts the two characters trading insults while they work on the new book. They joust over Ridgeway's need for her to sign an agreement to write the novel. Highsmith displays various killing instruments on her wall in the film. The reviewer John DeSando noted that the characters' battle of wits is enjoyable to watch.

DeSando, a Los Angeles Press Club first-place winner for National Entertainment Journalism, hosts NPR’s It’s Movie Time and Cinema Classics. He also hosts the podcasts Back Talk and Double Take. Feedspot recently listed those podcasts as two of the ten best NPR Movie Podcasts. DeSando reports out of WCBE 90.5 FM in Columbus, Ohio.

He described the movie as a sweet visit with Agatha Christie and a brief visit by Jason Bourne. He called it consummate entertainment peppered with mystery. DeSando said it is nice to know we can parse a cinematic homage to murder by design and emerge feeling good about our intellectual and aesthetic selves. He contacted readers at JohnDeSando52@gmail.com.