David Lowery has found his next cinematic descent into the psychological abyss—and he’s bringing Tilda Swinton with him.
“Death in Her Hands,” an adaptation of Ottessa Moshfegh’s eerie 2020 novel, marks a pivot even deeper into Lowery’s off-kilter sensibilities. Lowery will direct Swinton in what’s being described as a “surreal whodunnit” that blurs the line between reality and imagination.
Swinton stars as Vesta Gul, a recently widowed woman living in isolation whose world is upended when she finds a cryptic note in the woods: “Her name was Magda. Nobody will ever know who killed her. It wasn’t me. Here is her dead body.” There’s just one problem—there is no body. What follows is a descent into obsession and paranoia as Vesta, with only her dog, a camera, and a vivid imagination, begins piecing together a murder mystery that may or may not exist.
Lowery, who adapted the novel himself, calls the project “a devious challenge,” adding, “The script begot by the novel will soon become a film, and I am suddenly aware more than ever that adapting this particular work represents a devious challenge (anyone who’s read the novel will understand why)!” He goes on to praise Moshfegh’s prose and Swinton’s ability to “illuminate” the haunting material.
It should be noted that Lowery is still in post-production on Mother Mary, a music-driven A24 film starring Anne Hathaway. I’ve been hearing some concerning things about it, and Lowery has been tinkering with the edit for many months now.
Lowery’s most notable works include “A Ghost Story,” “The Green Knight,” “Ain’t Them Bodies Saints,” “The Old Man and the Gun.”