In her breakthrough role as Jenny Miller in An Education, Carey Mulligan captured the hearts of the entire world, with many labelling her as “the next Audrey Hepburn”. Since then, it seems that everybody wants a piece of the young actress, with the likes of Oliver Stone, Jim Sheridan and Michael Mann jumping at the chance to cast her in their films. Also keen to work with Mulligan again is Emma Thompson who, after co-starring together in An Education, has chosen her to star in the upcoming film Effie.

Written by Thompson (who as well as winning an Oscar for best actress has one for best screenplay) this biopic focuses on the relationship between Victorian poet and artist, John Ruskin (to be played by Thompson’s husband Greg Wise), and his young wife Effie Gray. After marrying Effie, who inspired some of his most beautiful and poignant work, Ruskin suddenly realised that he had made a mistake and therefore postpones their consummation. Filming is hoped to begin shooting soon on location in Venice and Scotland.

For her screenplay, Thompson will draw heavily on the actual letters written by Grey, so don’t be surprised if comparisons to Jane Campion’s Bright Star begin to be made, as she too used the love letters of John Keats and Fanny Brawne to write the screenplay of her film.

Under Thompson’s wing, I think that this role is a great one for Mulligan, providing her with the chance to move away from the naive young girls she has successfully played countless times before. Additionally, the role of the struggling wife is a role particularly favoured by the Academy, with Grace Kelly, Kim Hunter, Marcia Gay Harden and Jennifer Connelly (among others) all winning for their portrayals of neglected spouses. Therefore, if the film is as good as it sounds, Mulligan may find herself with the Oscar that Sandra Bullock stole from her this year.

Source: [The Film Stage]