Joaquin Phoenix, Rooney Mara to star in Pawel Pawlikowski’s ‘The Island’

Hollywood star couple Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara will feature together in acclaimed Polish director Pawlikowski’s next feature film.

Tentatively titled The Island, the movie is loosely based on a true story and centres on an American couple who turn their backs on civilisation to build a secluded paradise on a deserted island, where they decide to live off the land, reported Variety.

“But Eden proves difficult to pull off, particularly after a European countess finds out about their plans and arrives with her two lovers planning to take over the island and build a luxury hotel. That triggers some good old-fashioned psychological warfare, with ‘seduction and jealousy’ turning into ‘sexual infidelity, betrayal and eventually murder’,” as per the official plotline.

Pawlikowski is one of the most famous directors from European cinema, and won an Oscar for his 2013 movie Ida. His previous movie Cold War was nominated in the best international feature category at the 2019 Academy Awards.

The new film is produced by Tanya Seghatchian and John Woodward for Apocalypso Pictures and Brightstar. Mario Gianani and Lorenzo Gangarossa are co-producing for Wildside, a Fremantle company, with Vision Distribution in collaboration with Sky. Ewa Puszczynska is co-producing for Extreme Emotions. Reno Antoniades is serving as the executive producer.

Phoenix and Mara have starred together in movies Her (2013), Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot (2018) and Mary Magdalene (2018).

They have been dating since 2016 and got engaged in 2019. The couple welcomed their first child in August 2020.