The old fashioned, hard-boiled noir thriller is one of the most surprisingly underused genres in modern film. Considering the classics that spawned forth from it (The Maltese Falcon, Out of the Past, The Big Sleep), I find it surprising that more studios don’t go for these stories, what with their stylish language and gritty crime narratives. Then again, if all movies in this vein have to go through the now five-year-long development period that Black Wings Has My Angel has endured, maybe it’s not so surprising after all.
Luckily for the production, as reported by ScreenDaily (via The Playlist), two new stars have joined the roster: Thor‘s Tom Hiddleston and Anna Paquin. They’ll be taking spots alongside Elijah Wood, who had previously signed on to play protagonist Tim Sunblade (a classic noir name if ever there was one), an ex-con who teams up with a call girl to pull off an armored car heist. The film will be based on the novel of the same name by Elliot Chaze, and is adapted by Barry Gifford (Lost Highway), Christopher Peditto (Light and the Sufferer), and Alfonso Pineda Ulloa, the lattermost of whom will direct.
No release date has been set as of yet, but given the cast they are assembling — and the surprising dearth of noir-styled thrillers — I can personally say that Black Wings cannot open soon enough; you can bet we’ll be delivering more news as the film develops.
What are your thoughts on this film and its growing cast?