It’s funny how different the perspectives are from different sources when it comes to difficult-to-describe projects in their infancy. In the case of The Harvest, the project from Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer and Wild Things director John McNaughton, the most recent casting notice from Deadline announces that Michael Shannon and Samantha Morton will co-star in a thriller about an unusual, dysfunctional family dynamic.
The story centers on Katherine (Morton), a successful heart surgeon and overprotective mother, and Richard (Shannon), her co-dependent husband who has retired from his career as a nurse to care for their sick son Andy. Andy lives in a controlled world until an innocent 13-year-old neighbor moves in and gives Andy hopes of a better life. As the teens grow closer, the tight-knit world Katherine has created begins to unravel.
Whereas reports from when the film was first announced described it as a mix of a thriller and a horror film with a more sinister synopsis.
The Harvest centers on a young doctor and nurse who are trying to adjust to a new life when their child is born with a debilitating disease. How far are they willing to go in order to save their only son’s life?
In any event, pairing Michael Shannon with anyone in a story about a couple whose world unravels makes one think of his earlier work in Bug- a wacked out movie if there ever was one. Wherever the tone of this one lands, it’s will be interesting to see the Man Of Steel and Boardwalk Empire star up against Morton who, along with directing, has acted in films like The Messenger and Synechdoche, New York. Both actors bring a uniquely touched presence to the screen, so McNaughton has chosen well.
The director has mostly lived in TV since Wild Things, which is one of the movies I remember fast-forwarding through shitty VHS dubs of trying to see boobs when I was 12. All that to say McNaughton has been away from feature filmmaking for a while, and this is quite the cast to drop back in with.