The first I’ve heard of The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby is from the news that original male lead Joel Edgerton has departed the project, to be replaced by James McAvoy. It’s a lucky switch for McAvoy as now he’ll be the one sharing screentime with the lovely, talented, and well-recognized Jessica Chastain in the films that seem to have only a marginal connection with the Beatles song from which they clearly draw their title.
I say “films” because the twist of the project is that it is actually two seperate and free-standing films that will approach the same story from two different perspectives. Dubbed separately His and Hers, the two 
versions will tell both sides of the story of a challenged marriage.
The love story explores how a married couple in New York City deals with an emotional, life-altering experience, from the two different perspectives of the husband, Conor, (McAvoy), a restaurant owner, and of the wife, Eleanor, (Chastain), who goes back to college.
The project, from new director and writer Ned Benson, sounds as ambitious as it is interesting, and it’s seeking buyers now at Cannes. Any further details of exactly how they’ll be shot, what their ideas for release are, etc. are unknown. I will say the choice of Beatles reference is interesting for such an experimental film, as Eleanor Rigby marks the first time the band it #1 with a more somber, less pop song. It’s not the first sadness-tinged track they put out, but it was a noticeable shift to their later, more experimental studio work.
Poor Edgerton, rehearsing the words of a performance no one will see. Why did he leave?
Source | Collider (via Joblo)