A new film featuring Sam Heughan is coming to theaters and Sky Cinema in February 2021
Outlander star Sam Heughan has a new film coming out in February called To Olivia. The film is a biopic about the lives of Roald Dahl, author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Patricia Neal, an Oscar-winning actress. Sam plays actor Paul Newman.
Hugh Bonneville of Downton Abbey fame plays Roald Dahl while his wife Patricia Neal is played by Keeley Hawes from Bodyguard. According to Yahoo!News, the cast is all British and also includes Geoffrey Palmer and Conleth Hill. John Hay is the film’s director.
Sam Heughan’s involvement in the film was announced late last year. Paul Newman starred with Patricia Neal in the 1963 film Hud. Both of them were nominated for Oscars for the film, and Neal won. Sam’s role will be relatively small since To Olivia focuses on Dahl and Neal’s private lives.
To Olivia is named for Roald Dahl and Patricia Neal’s daughter, who died at age seven
The story of To Olivia, and the couple, is shaped by tragedy. Olivia died in 1962 from measles encephalitis. In 1960, their son Theo was struck by a cab in New York City and suffered brain damage, and Neal herself was paralyzed by three burst aneurysms in 1965. Dahl helped her to recover.
According to the synopsis in the post by Yahoo!News,
"as the couple struggle through the unimaginable loss [of their daughter], their shared grief becomes a source of redemption and strength which changes their lives forever."
Keeley Hawes tweeted the first image from the film on Nov. 12. It shows a close-up of her and Bonneville. She called the film “A real labour of love.”
To Olivia will be in cinemas and on the Sky Cinema streaming app in Feb. 2021. There is no word yet if the film will be released on any streaming service in the U.S.
Do you plan to watch To Olivia? Tell us in the comments below, and be sure to take some tissues.
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