LOVE CHILD

Rachel Weisz and Colin Farrell first worked together on Yorgos Lanthimos’ dystopian black comedy, The Lobster, in 2015. A single person has 45 days to find their soulmate or otherwise face turning into an animal in the film. In the beginning, David’s (Farrell) wife has just left, leaving him single and desperate to find his romantic partner. He tells his dog/brother that he’ll choose to turn into a lobster if he fails. David attempts to form a relationship with the narrator (Weisz) but to no avail. 

Now, six years later, Weisz and Farrell are reuniting for another dark comedy, Todd Solondz’s new film, Love Child. It’s billed as “a dark and hilarious twist on the classical Oedipal story,” meaning we’ll see a son who loves his mother so much that he’ll gladly kill his father to have her all to himself. So far, the film’s summary is as follows; “Junior, a delusional aspiring Broadway star with an inappropriate obsession with his mother, Immaculada. After orchestrating an accident that nearly kills his abusive father, he encourages Nacho, the handsome man living in the family’s guesthouse, to court his mother and become his new dad. But when the two fall in love, Junior becomes so jealous that he is no longer the subject of his mother’s attention that he hatches a plan to frame Nacho for his father’s murder.”

Solondz is known for Welcome to the Dollhouse and Happiness, but Love Child will be his first film with a plot and his first film set in Texas. “It’s fun and it’s sexy and it’s shaped by the Hollywood movies that made me want to become a filmmaker. I’ve loved Rachel and Colin’s work forever, and am so honored to be able to excite their passion for serious and unexpected work as well,” Solondz said in a statement. Solondz’s last film was 2016’s Wiener-Dog, which was a spin-off of Welcome to the Dollhouse. It received positive reviews and went to the Sundance Film Festival, where Amazon picked it up. Madriver International will bring Love Child to the Cannes virtual market. 

Both Farrell and Weisz are entering into the superhero franchise world before reuniting. Weisz is set for the MCU’S Black Widow, while Farrell is starring in Matt Reeves’ The Batman, coming next year. There’s no word of when we’ll get to see the British stars share the screen again, but it gives us time to read up on Oedipus complexes and Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex. Interestingly, Weisz and Farrell have chosen to do two dark comedies together. It seems as if it’s equally their favorite genre because The Lobster isn’t their first time working in it. Weisz was nominated for an Academy Award for Sarah in Lanthimos’ 2018 period black comedy The Favourite, while Farrell is no stranger to the genre, having starred in Martin McDonagh’s 2008 black comedy In Bruges. We don’t know what Love Child will bring, but at least we know both of its actors are fully capable.