A Talent for Murder Opens the Savannah Film Festival
A Talent for Murder Opens the Savannah Film Festival
Helen Mirren and Alden Ehrenreich's literary thriller A Talent for Murder opens the SCAD Savannah Film Festival on Saturday, October 24. The film is directed by Anton Corbijn and follows Patricia Highsmith, the American novelist who wrote The Talented Mr. Ripley.
Mirren plays Highsmith. Ehrenreich plays a junior editor sent to persuade her to write another Ripley novel, and he also plays Tom Ripley himself. Olivia Cooke co-stars. The Hollywood Reporter reports that the production was adapted from a play.
Ripley is Highsmith's best-known creation, according to Variety. Ehrenreich's character is the editor who wants more of him. Ehrenreich, speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, described the film's path to the screen as a rocky one.
The project nearly died before it started. According to The Hollywood Reporter, production fell apart just before filming because of financing and scheduling problems. It was revived more than a year later. Before that, Ehrenreich, Mirren and Corbijn spent a week rehearsing in a Los Angeles hotel room just before Christmas 2023.
A trailer arrived in late August. IndieWire published it with a look at Mirren as Highsmith.
Ehrenreich is also building a life on the stage. He is the artistic director of Huron Station Playhouse, a theatre and arts hub at 2640 Huron Street in Los Angeles. The venue opened in fall 2024, according to its own website.
The Los Angeles Times reported in March 2025 that he bought a historic substation in the city and converted it into the playhouse. He wants to help make Los Angeles a city where theatre thrives, the paper said.
He is also making his Broadway debut in Becky Shaw. The relationship comedy by Gina Gionfriddo is a Second Stage production at the Helen Hayes Theater, TheaterMania reported in March 2026.
For film fans, the Savannah slot is the first big public stop for the picture. Festival openings give audiences a first look at a film before its wider release, and they often help set the conversation for the months after.
