Dutch filmmaker Anton Corbijn has, after much delay, finally started production on his next film, and his first one in over nine years, titled “Switzerland.”
The film is said to tackle a fictional version of author Patricia Highsmith, who gets involved in a stressful relationship with her ambitious literary agent.
Highsmith, who spent the last days of her life in Switzerland, is being portrayed by British actress Helen Mirren. Olivia Cooke is her guide. Alden Ehrenreich (“Oppenheiemer”) is also cast in the role of the agent.
The script, described as a “thriller,” was written by author-turned-screenwriter Joanna Murray Smith (1988’s “Georgia”) and “promises a mixture of suspense and psychological depth, reflecting Highsmith's haunting literary style”.
None other than Robbie Ryan will be the cinematographer on this one (via Variety) — he’s been the DP on Yorgos Lanthimos’ last four films, but is now taking a break from that partnership. Rumor is that “Switzerland” might be shot in black and white.
Ryan is known to shoot very evocative imagery via wide-angled lensing and fluid camerawork. His works feels raw and grainy, shot entirely on film. It’s this sort of cinematic realism that invades the frames he concocted in “The Favourite,” “Poor Things,” “Fish Tank,” and “Marriage Story.”
Corbijn, a noted photographer-turned-director, is known for such acclaimed films as “Control,” “A Most Wanted Man” and “The American.” He’s been MIA since 2015, and “Switzerland” is surely set to become one of the more anticipated films of 2026.