First Trailer for WWII Drama 'Suite Francais' starring Michelle Williams and Matthias Schoenaerts

Curiously, there hasn't been much heard from Weinstein on the WWII drama, Suite Francais, which looked like a surefire Oscar player some months back. Perhaps Weinstein figures they have enough films to champion this season, most notably The Imitation Game. Or could it be something else? We're not looking at another Serena situation, are we? Probably not, as the film will hit the American Film Market next month before opening in U.K. theaters in January. Here in the States we'll have to settle for this new trailer, which looks mighty impressive.

Directed by Saul Dibb and starring Michelle Williams and Matthias Schoenaerts, the story centers on the torrid affair between a French woman and a German officer as Nazis invade her country. Kristin Scott Thomas plays her meddling mother-in-law, while the rest of the cast features Margot Robbie, Ruth Wilson, Alexandra Maria Lara, Eileen Atkins, Tom Schilling, and Lambert Wilson. Just based on this it looks like a solid wartime romance, impeccably designed much like Dibb's last film, The Duchess, which won an Academy Award for costume design.

Suite Francais opens in the UK on January 23rd 2015.

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First Look at Michelle Williams in 'Suite Francais'

Michelle Williams doesn't do a number of projects each year, but you can usually count on one to at least put her in the Best Actress discussion. That won't be the case in 2013 as her only major role was in Oz the Great and Powerful, which didn't really ask her to do much but look really good in white. There's good reason to be excited about her next film, though, the WWII-era romance Suite Francais, and now we're getting the first look at what's in store.

Directed by Saul Dibb and co-starring Rust and Bone's Matthias Schoenaerts, the film centers on the forbidden romance between a lonely French woman and a German officer stationed in her home. The image gives a sense of her stifled existence, Schoenaerts looming over here and another soldier in the background, but also Williams' passionate resistance.

Co-starring Ruth Wilson, Margot Robbie, Alexandra Maria Lara, and Eileen Atkins, Suite Francais will be released by The Weinstein Company next year, but my fingers are crossed that it will turn up at Sundance first. [ThePlaylist]

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Ruth Wilson and Margot Robbie Join Michelle Williams In 'Suite Francais'

Two actresses definitely making big moves this year are Margot Robbie and Ruth Wilson, but they're doing it in two completely different sorts of films. Wilson can currently be seen in theaters longing for Armie Hammer in The Lone Ranger, while Robbie hangs out with a madcap Leonardo DiCaprion in The Wolf of Wall Street. She also has a role in Richard Curtis' sci-fi romance About Time. But now they're coming together in what looks like a potential Oscar contender.

Deadline reports that Wilson and Robbie, along with Alexandra Maria Lara have joined WWII drama, Suite Francais. Adapted by Saul Dibb (The Duchess) and starring Michelle Williams, Matthias Schoenaerts, Sam Riley, and Kristin Scott Thomas, the story centers on the difficult relationship between a young French woman and a German officer in Nazi-occupied France. Lara, who also happens to be Riley's wife, has appeared with him in Control, and will be seen next in Ron Howard's Rush.

Suite Francais is expected to open in 2014.

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Ray Winstone Joins 'The Gunman'; Sam Riley Enters 'Suite Francais'; Matthew Goode Plays 'The Imitation Game'

* And the cast of Pierre Morel's The Gunman keeps getting better. Already with Sean Penn, Javier Bardem, and the recent additions of Idris Elba and Jasmine Trinca, the latest to join is Sexy Beast star, Ray Winstone. Penn will play Martin Terrier, a paid killer who is double-crossed by his bosses when he wants out of the game. Winstone will play Terrier's mentor, with Elba and Bardem on the opposite end of what should be one epic shoot out. Always a great tough guy and a bear of an actor, Winstone should fit into this machismo-filled flick pretty easily. He'll be seen next squaring off against Russell Crowe in Darren Aronofsky's Noah. [Deadline]

* It took awhile, but Sam Riley is finally starting to live up to the potential he showed in 2007's Control. He recently starred opposite Kristen Stewart in On the Road, he'll track down a pair of sexy vampire in Byzantium, and next summer he'll star in Disney's Maleficent. Now he's joined Michelle Williams, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Matthias Schoenaerts in an adaptation of Suite Francias, directed by Saul Dibb. The WWII drama charts the complicated love affair between a young French woman and a German officer. Riley will play Benoir, a French soldier. Look for this to be a potential Oscar contender when it opens next summer. [Deadline]

* After having a bit of difficulty getting off the ground after Leonardo DiCaprio and Ron Howard turned it down, Alan Turing biopic The Imitation Game is shaping up to be pretty amazing. With Benedict Cumberbatch in the lead role of the famed cryptanalyst, the Daily Mail confirms that Matthew Goode has joined the cast as code-breaker Hugh Alexander. They also firm up Keira Knightley's role as that of scientist Joan Clarke, who Turing proposed marriage to but backed out after revealing his homosexuality.  Turing was essential in cracking the German Enigma Code in WWII, but was persecuted for his homosexuality and tried in a court of law, decimating his career.

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Matthias Schoenaerts joining Michelle Williams in 'Suite Francais'

It was inevitable that doors would start to open here for Matthias Shoenaerts. He first came to the attention of Hollywood with the Oscar-nominated film, Bullhead, and this week sees him starring opposite Marion Cotillard in the amazing French feature, Rust and Bone. In my review, I said that Schoeaerts gives a "dominating turn" and seems "poised for greatness". The film is easily, at least in my opinion, the best of the year, and he's a large part of the reason why.

The DailyMail reports that Schoenaerts is in final talks to join Michelle Williams in Suite Francais, the WWII drama from director Saul Dibb(The Duchess). With Kristin Scott Thomas on board as well, the film charts the complicated love affair between a young French woman(Williams) and a German officer(Schoenaerts), with the woman forced to make some hard choices between her heart and her country. An adaptation of Irene Nemirovsky's novel, production is slated to begin next spring.

Already sounding like potential Oscar-bait, the addition of Schoenaerts all but solidifies Suite Francais as a film to watch. Do yourself a favor and get acquainted with him a little by checking out Rust and Bone this weekend.

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