If you go down to the sea today, you're in for a big surprise. Okay, not a huge surprise, but a Ciaran Hinds, Charlotte Rampling and Natascha McElhone sized surprise. Principle photography has kicked off in Wexford on the film adaptation of Booker Prize Winning novel The Sea by John Banville, with Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy star Hinds in the lead role. Set on the coastal edge of the county, The Sea sees Hinds in the role of Max, who returns to the sea where he spent his childhood summers after the death of his wife, which forces him to reflect on memories from a summer long since past, memories of innocent joy, uplifting warmth but also of profound tragedy.
Stephen Brown is making his feature film directorial debut, with producers Luc Roeg (We Need To Talk About Kevin) and Michael Robinson of Independent with David Collins (Once) of Samson Films. Roeg has had his sights set on adapting Banville's novel for several years, and is looking forward to working on our fair shores, saying "I'm excited to introduce a new film maker, Stephen Brown, to world cinema and I couldn't be more delighted with the cast and crew we've assembled together with our producing partners at Samson Films. The film has been made possible by the tremendous support we've had from Ireland and all our financiers."
Starring alongside Hinds, Rampling and McElhone are Rufus Sewell and Sinead Cusack, and new young talents Missy Keating, Matthew Dillon and Padhraig Parkinson. And with complete support from Banville himself, it looks like this one is worth getting excited about.
