Jennifer Aniston Shows Edgy Comic Side in Movie Adaptation of Elmore Leonard's 'Life of Crime'
Until his passing last year, Elmore Leonard reigned as one of America’s most beloved crime-thriller writers, mastering an unmistakable scary-funny voice that spawned a generation of imitators.
The same can’t be said for his work in movies. Though there are many big-screen adaptations of his books, it is harder to identify a clear Leonard footprint. The Leonard signature has been given been seen in numerous variations, including hard-boiled tough-guy films (Mr. Majestyk, 52 Pick-Up) , broadly comic capers (Get Shortly), slick stylized pieces (Out of Sight, Jackie Brown) and even classic westerns (3:10 To Yuma).
In the upcoming Life of Crime, we have what looks to be one of the most faithful attempts to capture a Leonard story — as well as the signature Leonard tone. You can watch a clip, above, exclusively on Yahoo Movies.
The film stars Jennifer Aniston (perhaps the American actress least associated with hard-boiled thrillers), as the wife of a corrupt developer, whose kidnapping goes very wrong, setting off a cascading chain of disasters.
Also starring Tim Robbins, John Hawkes, Isla Fisher and Will Forte, the film was the closing-night movie of last year’s Toronto Film Festival.
In a phone conversation, director Daniel Schechter described the challenges of adapting Elmore Leonard. “My favorites,’ he said. “Were the ones that stayed closest to the books. Jackie Brown was so thoroughly grounded in reality and real characters.”
While making the film, Schechter sought out the novelist for his guidance. “He kept the movie at arm’s length. I spent a weekend with him, and got to know him a little bit. He did a strange dance, as he didn’t want to get his heart broken about an adaptation, but he also loved movies so much, that he couldn’t help himself wanting to give me little nuggets of advice.”
Speaking of the scene previewed here, Schechter continued, “He felt the biggest danger was going broad with his material, which I agreed with. To me, the scene is darkly and subtly funny, but also, at the same time, has quasi-scary energy. And that’s the tightrope you walk, making an Elmore Leonard story.”
As for casting Aniston in such a gritty tale Schechter said, “An actor like that, brings a tremendous amount of association, so you worry: ‘can she disappear into that character and blend into the ensemble?’ Which is something i wasn’t sure about until we started shooting the film. And then, on day one, I was instantly thrilled, and believed that we were going to take an iconic actress and show her something I’d never seen her do.”
Life of Crime opens on August 29th in theaters and on iTunes and VOD.
