Following Robert Pattinson’s post-Twilight* career trajectory is so far turning out to be a productive use of time; he’s already stepped out of the boundaries of that franchise by taking the lead in David Cronenberg’s Cosmopolis (Grady’s review), he’s on the cast of Werner Herzog’s next outing, and now he’s signed up for James Marsh’s post-Shadow Dancer project, Hold Onto Me, where he’ll work with the endlessly talented Carey Mulligan. Pattinson takes efforts to prove himself as a real actor daily, it seems, and while Mulligan has no such chip on her shoulder she’s still one of the best young actresses working in film today, so suffice it to say that I’d be excited at any mention of them spending time together on-screen.
That they happen to be doing so under the gaze of a very, very good director just sweetens the pot, though. You may remember James Marsh as the man behind 2008’s utterly engrossing and uplifting documentary Man On Wire (which earned him the 2008 Best Documentary Oscar, among other awards); he does more than just doc features, and that Hold Onto Me apparently is based on a true store bodes well for his involvement. The news comes from Deadline by way of Hitfix, who describe the synopsis as a noir tale of ransoming gone awry. To me, all of this sounds like a recipe for something great– two remarkable performers doing noir while taking direction from a great director? Consider me interested.
*I realize Twilight isn’t done just yet, and he’s not the first young actor who, freed from his duties as lead in a young adult film series, has tried to break away from his tentpole endeavors (see: Daniel Radcliffe). But he’s making greater strides than just about all of them, which I think is to be applauded.