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Richard Gere is 76 years old, but when he walks the streets of New York on a splendid sunny day he still manages to captivate every eye. This happened just a few days ago when, strolling through the streets of the Big Apple, the actor was spotted with his colleague Diana Silvers and director Edward Zwick on the set of Asymmetry, his new film: inspired by the novel of the same name by Lisa Halliday, the film marks a double return, that of the actor on the big screen and that of the director behind the camera, eight years after his last work (Denial).
The film, which will presumably be presented at the next Cannes Film Festival , is an adaptation of an acclaimed novel published in 2018 that the director has called fascinating and irresistible, as have millions of readers before him (and even Barack Obama, who included it in his reading recommendations when it first hit bookstores). “I was fascinated by Lisa’s book not only for its emotional power, intelligence, and irony, but because it tells the story of two people who discover that what the world calls asymmetry can have another name: love.”
What is Asymmetry, Richard Gere’s new film, about?
The asymmetry in the title of Lisa Halliday’s novel refers to the age gap between the two protagonists, but also to their social status and the different roles and positions they hold in society. He is Ezra, an internationally renowned writer, rich, and powerful, now 74; she is Alice, 50 years younger and still at the beginning of her publishing career . When they meet, a fleeting glance sparks first a deep bond, then a relationship that remains secret to escape the judgment of others. While to the outsider there is an obvious imbalance between Ezra and Alice, a relationship of equality blossoms between them, one of exchange: the film’s producers said in an interview that Asymmetry is “an unconventional love story, exploring an unlikely connection between two people at very different stages of their lives, challenging their—and our—ideas of love and power.”
The true story behind Asymmetry ‘s boundless love
Lisa Halliday, the author of the novel that inspired Edward Zwick—director of unforgettable films such as Legends of the Fall , Blood Diamond, and The Last Samurai —to return to directing after a nearly 10-year hiatus, wrote Asymmetry when she was 41. It was her debut novel and the story of her relationship with writer Philip Roth , of whom Ezra, the male protagonist, is a perfect impersonation. Halliday, who has lived in Milan with her husband for years, had an affair with Roth when she was in her twenties. In her novel, she describes the writer’s quirks and limitations, his nitpicking and flashes of brilliance. While the first part recounts how their relationship begins and develops, the second part completely detaches itself from the narrative flow to offer the reader a stand-alone story, set in the Middle East, with a protagonist who has nothing to do with the main characters. Only at the end will we discover that the story is the fruit of Lisa/Alice’s mind, who thus managed to detach herself from her Pygmalion, mentor and lover to establish herself as the voice, and not just the (asymmetrical) shadow of a successful author.
The novel’s author was involved in the film’s screenplay by Zwick, who wanted her in the writers’ room alongside his most trusted writer, Marshall Herskovitz. Gere, who is very selective, has appeared in only five films in the last ten years: with Asymmetry he is aiming for global artistic recognition as a performer capable of portraying a mature man, full of imperfections and new discoveries, grappling with a love that transcends all usual conventions. Diane Silvers, a Los Angeles actress previously seen in Lonely Planet ,He’s not a newcomer, but this is undoubtedly the role that will define his career. See you in theaters in 2027: for those who really can’t wait, there’s always Halliday’s book to (re)read.