Alex Michaelides’s The Silent Patient took the world by storm when it was first released in 2019, and it instantly became one of the best thrillers of all time! So, fans were genuinely excited when it was announced that it was picked up for a movie adaptation a few years ago.
But it’s been quite some time since the movie adaptation was announced, and it still hasn’t been released. So, what’s happening with the movie? Is it cancelled, or is it still under development? Let’s find out!
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides tells the story of psychotherapist Theo Faber, who is dealing with a patient who has become mute after she murdered her husband. The book’s story was so gripping that it was hard to put it down. I personally never saw the twist coming, and there aren’t many books I’ve read that come close to this masterpiece.
Before writing the book, Alex Michaelides worked as a screenwriter and even worked on some projects. However, his career never took off, so he decided to write a novel. The Silent Patient was Alex’s first novel, and it became an instant best-seller, selling over 6.5 million copies to date.
Since the book was a masterpiece, it was well-received by fans worldwide, and the story was perfect to be adapted into a movie; it was only a matter of time before a production company would buy its rights. And it did happen, but we have yet to see the book’s movie adaptation!
Who is Developing The Silent Patient Movie?
The Silent Patient is supposed to be developed by the production company Plan B, which is owned by the popular and well-known actor Brad Pitt. This company was founded in 2001, about 24 years ago, by Brad Pitt, Brad Grey, Kristin Hahn, and Jennifer Aniston.
The production company is known for some pretty amazing movies like The Departed, 12 Years a Slave, and Moonlight; these three movies have gone on to win the Academy Awards.
With such a big production company buying the rights to the book’s adaptation, why haven’t we heard anything about its development?
In 2019, not long after the book was first published, it was announced that it had been picked up for a movie adaptation. Variety wrote an article back in March 2019 revealing who bought the rights to this movie. But it’s been over six years, and there is no word about what’s happening with the movie.
There can be many reasons behind this delay, such as the fact that rights to many properties are being sold all the time, and not every IP gets a movie or TV series adaptation. There are multiple stages when it comes to a film’s production, and sometimes a project might get stalled in the early stages, never to progress further. In worst cases, the project gets cancelled altogether, like what happened with the ACOTAR TV series.
There can also be other issues behind the movie’s delay, like casting problems, creative differences, scheduling issues, etc.
But the main thing is, the movie has been announced, it hasn’t yet been cancelled, but the production is likely stalled, and we might as well accept that the film won’t ever be made, at least by the current production company that owns its rights!
Will The Silent Patient Movie Ever Make It To The Screen?
It has been six years since Plan B announced that it would make a movie based on the book, but there haven’t been any updates since then.
So, I don’t think it has any plans to produce the movie, and it might not renew the rights to the movie’s adaptation and let it revert to the author. If that happens, which is highly likely, expect to never see the film from Plan B.
However, I personally think that the movie will happen at some point because the book is perfect for adaptation into a movie. The story isn’t complicated, the cast is very limited, and it is a tightly-knit thriller story that easily adapts to the big screen.
So, yes, there is a chance that we will see a movie adaptation of The Silent Patient on the big screen. The issue here is that we don’t know exactly when that will happen!
But with the recent wave of books being adapted into movies and TV series, the chances are good!
What is The Plot of The Silent Patient?
The Silent Patient tells the story of a woman named Alicia Berenson and the crime she committed against her husband. They had a seemingly perfect life. Both had great careers, lived in a lovely home, and had a great relationship.
When Alicia Berenson shoots her husband in the face five times and then becomes mute, everyone is shocked by the sudden turn of events.
Enter Theo Faber, a criminal psychotherapist who wants to work with Alicia. He wants to find out not only why she murdered her husband, but also why she refuses to talk about it since it happened. Getting to the truth won’t be easy, but Theo is determined to find it out no matter what.
The official synopsis for the book reads:
“Alicia Berenson’s life is seemingly perfect. A famous painter married to an in-demand fashion photographer, she lives in a grand house with big windows overlooking a park in one of London’s most desirable areas. One evening her husband Gabriel returns home late from a fashion shoot, and Alicia shoots him five times in the face, and then never speaks another word.
Alicia’s refusal to talk, or give any kind of explanation, turns a domestic tragedy into something far grander, a mystery that captures the public imagination and casts Alicia into notoriety. The price of her art skyrockets, and she, the silent patient, is hidden away from the tabloids and spotlight at the Grove, a secure forensic unit in North London.
Theo Faber is a criminal psychotherapist who has waited a long time for the opportunity to work with Alicia. His determination to get her to talk and unravel the mystery of why she shot her husband takes him down a twisting path into his own motivations—a search for the truth that threatens to consume him.”
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