Ariel Vromen’s next film – Criminal – is shaping up to be proof positive of the filmmaker’s ability to attract fascinating casting combinations. Where his previous movie – 2012’s The Iceman – featured Michael Shannon, Chris Evans, James Franco, Winona Ryder, Ray Liotta and David Schwimmer, his forthcoming venture is bringing in names even more legendary in nature.
The plot centres around a dangerous criminal, who is tasked by the CIA to complete a dead agent’s mission after they implant that agent’s memories and experiences into his brain. Kevin Costner will feature in the leading role, with Ryan Reynolds, Tommy Lee Jones and Gary Oldman also signing up. By anyone’s standards, that’s quite a lot of testosterone, so we now have the announcement that Alice Eve will also co-star.
Having built a solid foundation for herself in recent years, with supporting roles in films such as The Raven, Men In Black 3 and Star Trek Into Darkness, Alice Eve is steadily graduating to bigger, leading roles – most recently starring opposite Bryan Cranston in Cold Comes The Night. Her attachment to Criminal is an interesting development, given her eclectic body of work, but if The Iceman is anything to go by, her role will be anything but tokenism.
Director Ariel Vromen has a tendency to feature female characters who – though few in number – are central and influential. However, it is important to note that Vromen has not scripted Criminal himself. That credit goes to Douglas Cook and David Weisberg (The Rock), who are known for dealing with female characters in, perhaps, a less weighty way. Hopefully, partnering their work with Vromen – experienced in screenwriting himself – has given Cook and Weisberg cause to up their game somewhat, with regards to the character now to be portrayed by Alice Eve. The proof will be in the proverbial pudding – the serving of which we must patiently await.