Ever since Diane Kruger stole everyone’s hearts in Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds back in 2009, she’s just been doing far too many French films and not nearly enough English language work. It’s time they lent her back. They’ve been bogarting her. And Anton Yelchin, well he’s been spending far too much of his time starring in rehashes of properties from decades ago and providing voices for children’s movies. It’s high time he makes us all tear up in another relationship drama, like he did with Like Crazy. It’s good news for everyone, then, that THR is reporting the duo will soon be teaming up for a project called 5 to 7, which is both an indie romance as well as a movie that was written and will be directed by a guy who speaks English.
The good news doesn’t stop there though, because that English-speaking guy isn’t just some jerk off the street. No, 5 to 7 is the latest work of Victor Levin, a creative type so talented that he’s been spending the last couple years serving as a writer and producer on TV’s Mad Men (you know, the Mad Men that was already the best show on television, but then just topped itself with its stellar season 5). Sure, he also wrote a romantic comedy called Win a Date With Tad Hamilton! back in 2004 that I don’t think anybody remembers much or liked all that well, but let’s focus on the positive: Mad Men!
Reportedly, 5 to 7 will see Yelchin playing an aspiring novelist who finds himself involved in an affair with the beautiful wife of a French diplomat (Kruger). Comedy and tragedy then occur, because French people and American people trying to get along is always a laugh riot, but infidelity…not so much. And, rest assured, anyone who has experience working on Mad Men knows a thing or about writing about infidelity; this thing is bound to be soul-crushing.
When asked about their involvement, producers Bonnie Curtin and Julie Lynn said (I guess they spoke in unison), “Vic Levin’s script has us in tears—we’re just not sure if it’s from laughing or crying. We’re excited about the grace and intelligence that he, Diane and Anton will bring to their interpretations of his beautiful story.”
What do you say film fans, are you excited too? Does this sound like the perfect sort of project to allow a couple of talented youngsters like Yelchin and Kruger to flex their acting muscles, or should Levin being unproven when it comes to directing feature films keep us from regarding this one with anything but skepticism? Ah, let’s just choose to be positive.