30/01/2025 - The pic, now in production in Rome, sees Mirren playing the ageing queen of thrillers Patricia Highsmith

l-r: Actors Olivia Cooke (© Gage Skidmore), Alden Ehrenreich (© Dick Thomas Johnson) and Helen Mirren (© Harald Krichel)

Filming on Anton Corbijn’s thriller Switzerland is now under way in Rome. The much-anticipated pic is the first feature in more than nine years from the Dutch photographer-turned-director, who is best known for helming music videos of popular acts such as Coldplay, U2 and Nirvana as well as films of the likes of Control [+see also:
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The cast is toplined by Helen Mirren (who portrays queen of thrillers Patricia Highsmith), Alden Ehrenreich (Oppenheimer [+see also:
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The plot of Switzerland sees Patricia Highsmith fading away in the titular country, where a young literary agent named Edward (Ehrenreich) tries to coax her out of retirement to pen one last instalment of her popular Ripley series. It soon becomes clear that the charming agent is on a more sinister mission. As they begin to collaborate on a new Ripley plot, the world they live in and the one they are constructing become blurred. Cooke’s role in the movie is not yet known.

The feature is based on the play of the same name by Melbourne-based writer Joanna Murray-Smith, who also penned the script. Production will later move to South Tyrol in mid-February, followed by Switzerland and London. Key creatives include Oscar-nominated DoP Robbie Ryan (Poor Things [+see also:
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Switzerland is being produced by Gabrielle Tana for UK firm Brouhaha Entertainment, and Pete Shilaimon and Mickey Liddell for US-based firm LD Entertainment. Other producers include Brouhaha’s Troy Lum and Andrew Mason, Jim Robison and Kurt Martin for Australia’s Lunar Pictures, Karl Spoerri at Switzerland’s Zurich Avenue, and Andrea Occhipinti for Italy’s Lucky Red. FilmNation Entertainment is handling the world sales. The Italian line producer is Enrico Ballarin.