According to Deadline, Dakato Fanning will take the lead role in Richard Laxton’s period drama EFFIE. The film, written by Brit actress Emma Thompson, is a biopic of Effie Gray, a young a beautiful woman who was married to art critic John Ruskin. As their marriage was never consumated, and Ruskin was repelled by Effie physically, she became romantically engaged with her husband’s protege, the painter John Everett Milais. The love triangle was reportedly a huge scandal with the 1850s English art community.
The news of Fanning’s casting comes as some surprise as THE LOVELY BONES’ Saoirse Ronan had previously been attached to the role. Greg Wise (JOHNNY ENGLISH) is set to play Ruskin and Tom Sturridge (THE BOAT THAT ROCKED) will play Milais. They join fellow cast members Derek Jacobi and Julie Walters.
