Joaquin Phoenix (Walk the Line) and Marion Cotillard (Inception) have joined the cast of writer/director James Gray’s latest film Low Life. According to Deadline, both actors have signed on to the film while The Hurt Locker star Jeremy Renner is in negotiations to play the film’s third lead.
Cotillard will star as a young woman who attempts to immigrate from Poland only to be forced into prostitution to support her ailing sister. With little options she falls in with a charming sleazebag (Phoenix) who persuades her to become a sex worker in New York. Renner is in talks to play the cousin of Phoenix’s character, a magician who offers the young woman a potential romance and a chance to escape her hellish life.
Gray has previously worked with Phoenix in The Yards, We Own The Night, and Two Lovers. Production is set to begin in 2012 as all of the actors are currently busy working on other projects.
While I haven’t seen The Yards or Two Lovers, I did see We Own The Night which I found enjoyable despite the predictability of the plot. Phoenix continues to be an actor that surprises me with his flexibility to play different roles and, while I never did fall in love with his decision to ‘retire’ from acting and pursue his ‘rap’ career (highlighted in the mockumentary I’m Still Here), I can’t deny that he has some serious acting chops.
What do you think? Will this be a memorable role or a footnote in the actor’s filmography?
