Culture / Film

Charlotte Gainsbourg navigates living with a brain injury in the adaptation of ‘The Almond and the Seahorse’

The Almond and the Seahorse

More tenderness please! We've recently received our first glimpse at Charlotte Gainsbourg in a fresh indie film entitled The Almond and the Seahorse. What we didn't expect was for the two minute and twenty second trailer to flood us with warmth for its gentle portrait of living with a brain injury.

The film is based off of Kaite O’Reilly's 2008 play of the same name, which received five stars from The Guardian and further glowing reviews upon its season at Welsh theatre, Sherman Cymru. For its adaptation for the silver screen, BAFTA award-winning screenwriter Celyn Jones has stepped to helm the project, for what will be his directorial debut. Meanwhile, Jones has enlisted the help of fellow BAFTA and Academy Award nominated cinematographer Tom Stern to join to production.

This winning combination is fortified by the presence of Charlotte Gainsbourg and somewhat surprisingly Rebel Wilson, who both lead The Almond and the Seahorse as Sarah and Toni, an archaeologist and architect whose partners have sustained lifelong brain injuries and must reimagine what this means for their own lives going forward. For those unaware, the title refers to the nicknames of the amygdala and the hippocampus, both parts of the brain that are affected with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).

The plot itself is redolent of 50 First Dates, as the women must confront each day with the routine of reminding their partners of their amnesia, and the unsettling realisation that things are only getting worse.

Trine Dyrholm, Meera Syal, Alice Lowe, and Ruth Madeley are onboard to support Gainsbourg and Wilson on screen. Meanwhile, Celyn Jones will also take on a role in the production, stepping on as Wilson's other half Joe. So far, the film has just premiered at Zurich Film Festival, with a US release date set for December 16, 2022.

While we wait for the film to drop, you can preview the trailer for The Almond and the Seahorse below.

 

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Image: Instagram