Natalie Portman to star in HBO Films’ The Days of Abandonment directed By Maggie Betts

HBO Films is currently in the process of developing a film adaptation of Italian author Elena Ferrante’s best-selling novel The Days of Abandonment, with Oscar-winning actress Natalie Portman attached for the lead role. The film adaptation, which is still in the pre-production stages, will be written and directed by Maggie Betts, who is also executive producing. Portman has also signed on to executive produce through her recently-formed MountainA Films banner.

First published in 2002, The Days of Abandonment is described as a visceral, no-holds-barred journey into the mind of a woman in crisis that confronts the norms of motherhood and female identity as Tess traverses the darkest reaches of her own psyche. The film will follows the story of Tess, a woman who abandoned her own dreams for a stable home life. Her world gets suddenly thrown off its axis when her husband abandons her.

The project also hails from Maven Screen Media, who previously worked with Betts’ feature directorial debut Novitiate. Executive producers are MountainA’s Sophia Mas, Maven Screen Media’s Celine Rattray & Trudie Styler, Len Amato for Crash&Salvage, Fandango’s Domenico Procacci and Maria Zuckerman.