Reckoner: Christina Hendricks to star in psychological thriller

Christina Hendricks of the TV shows Mad Men and Good Girls has signed on to star in the psychological thriller Reckoner, Deadline reports. Based on a short story by author Rachel Ingalls, Reckoner will mark the feature directorial debut of Nissar Modi, who previously wrote the 2013 horror film Breaking at the Edge and the 2015 sci-fi film Z for Zachariah.

The story of Reckoner centers on an affluent woman whose carefully constructed life is disrupted by a young man connected to a tightly-held secret from her past. I’m not familiar with the source material, but the story sounds interesting to me, and Christina Hendricks is always a good addition to a cast.

The film is being produced by XYZ Films and Two & Two Pictures, with XYZ Films providing the financing. The company will be presenting the project to potential distributors at the Cannes Film Festival, and Deadline notes that they have listed it on their “freshly launched, internationally focused New Visions slate”. They add that Reckoner is part of “Two & Two and XYZ’s production pact to produce films from first and second-time genre filmmakers from underrepresented demographics. The two companies previously collaborated on Babak Anvari’s pics Under The Shadow, I Came By, and the upcoming History Of Evil, written and directed by Bo Mirhosseni.“

Modi had this to say about the project: “I’m delighted to be working with the immensely talented Christina Hendricks on this haunting tale of guilt, obsession and revenge. It’s a film I’ve been envisioning for many years ever since I read Rachel Ingalls’ remarkable short story, and am excited to finally bring it to life thanks to the ever-supportive teams at XYZ Films and Two and Two.“

Wikipedia notes that Rachel Ingalls’ “reputation is characterised by deep admiration and acclaim but also a certain degree of obscurity.” The author said her limited commercial success was due to the “very odd, unsalable length” of her books, which were usually short story collections or novellas. Sadly, Ingalls passed away in 2019.

Does Reckoner sound interesting to you? Have you read Rachel Ingalls’ short story? Let us know by leaving a comment below.