Monia Chokri’s “The Nature of Love” has been acquired for U.K. and Ireland distribution by Vertigo Releasing.
The film stars Magalie Lépine Blondeau (“Heartbeats,” “Laurence Anyways”) and Pierre-Yves Cardinal (“Tom at the Farm,” “Mommy”). In the film, the cosy married life of lecturer and intellectual Sophia (Blondeau) takes a bold new turn when she meets Sylvain (Cardinal), the ruggedly charming handyman at her new chalet and she embarks on a steamy and all-consuming affair.
“The Nature of Love” premiered at Cannes’ Un Certain Regard strand earlier this year and since then has played Toronto and Zurich among other festivals. It has its U.K. premiere at the BFI London Film Festival on Oct. 13 and will play Chicago post that.
“Female mid-life crises are not explored in this mode of storytelling as often their male counterpart: While the tragedy of the woman who f—s around and finds out is a mainstay of plenty of great literature and cinema, the comedic versions tend to focus on male love rats,” said the PvNew review of the film. “Perhaps this is due to longstanding cultural discomfort with female infidelity: Historically, if an unfaithful woman was going to be the lead character, everything had to be treated with a certain gravity. ‘The Nature of Love’ refreshingly centers the female adulterer’s experience, in a richly comic mode.”
“The Nature of Love” is a metafilms production. Vertigo, which is planning to release the film wide in spring 2024, acquired the rights from MK2 Films, who are handling international sales. The rights for black comedy “Sometimes I Think about Dying,” which stars Daisy Ridley and premiered at Sundance, were acquired by Vertigo recently.
Upcoming Vertigo releases include ancestral hauntings in “It Lives Inside,” from the producers of “Get Out,” Christmas carnage in “There’s Something in the Barn”, featuring Martin Starr, and action-thriller “Jackdaw,” starring Jenna Coleman and Oliver Jackson-Cohen.
