John C. Reilly Cast In We Need To Talk About Kevin

John C. Reilly has appeared in a lot of comedies of late, so it’s nice to see him going back to more serious fare. The word being spread by Movieline is he’s signed on for Lynne Ramsey’s adaptation of Lionel Shriver’s We Need To Talk About Kevin. The novel, written in epistolery form, follows a mother’s shock and horror when her son initiates a high school killing spree. The letters, to her estranged husband, detail the machinations and potential reasons for her son’s actions. It may be a touchy subject given the prevalence of such real life incidents, but this could be a powerful portrayal of damaged lives.

The film stars Tilda Swinton as the mother Eve Khatchadourian and Reilly will play the father, Franklin. The film is directed by Scottish filmmaker Lynne Ramsay. It is the director’s first film in eight years. Her previous works, The Ratcatcher and Movern Callar, received rave reviews and awards upon their release. For much of the last decade she spent time trying to bring Alice Sebold’s novel The Lovely Bones to the screen. After this was abandoned, Peter Jackson purchased the rights from Film Four and the rest is history.

We Need To Talk About Kevin is to commence filming in April.

Tags: john c reilly, Lynne Ramsay, Tilda Swinton, We Need To Talk About Kevin