A serious-sounding depiction of a relationship between an in-hiding war criminal and his lowly maid doesn’t particularly have a Brad Silberling-esque ring to it, but this Deadline report begs to differ. Not only is the man behind Land of the Lost and Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events signed on to direct the film, but he’s also going to be working from his own script, which will be a first for him since the 2006 Morgan Freeman dramedy 10 Items or Less.

And, like that film, Silberling will once again have a reliable veteran at his disposal, though this time his leading man, Brendan Gleeson, will have the company of a much buzzed-about on-the-rise actress: Abbie Cornish. We weren’t particularly impressed by Cornish‘s recent turn in the Tribeca-debuted The Girl, but the overarching consensus suggests that, revelatory or not, she’s at least a hefty cut above the material she’s given to work with there.

Here’s hoping, then, that Silberling blesses her with something ripe, because the pairing of her and Gleeson has an intriguing potential. The latter, of course, killed it in John Michael McDonagh‘s foul-mouthed The Guard, though we know from experience that he’s got plenty of dramatic beats to pull from, and that certainly sounds like the territory he’ll be operating in here. Cornish, meanwhile, is in the midst of a collaboration with the other McDonagh, Martin, on his forthcoming In Bruges follow-up Seven Psychopaths. (You don’t need another reminder of that film’s stacked-deck cast, right?)

All of which is to say that, Silberling‘s eclectic track record aside, the coupling of these two hungry performers is too exciting to overlook. Filming will commence this fall, in Belgrade, Serbia, so it’s possible there may be some additional casting drops in the near future.

What do you think about the matching of Silberling with this material? Any early thoughts on the pairing?