Netflix has launched the trailer for its film adaptation of Jessica Knoll’s 2015 book “Luckiest Girl Alive,” starring Mila Kunis.
Mike Barker (“Black Match,” “The Handmaid’s Tale,” “Fargo”) will direct the film, and Knoll herself is adapting the screenplay based on her book.
“Soon I’ll be an editor at the New York Times Magazine, and in six weeks I’m getting married in a lavish but tasteful ceremony,” Kunis’ character Ani FaNelli opens the clip, sharing news of her wedding to Luke (Finn Wittrock). “Luke comes from money, but I have something no trust fund can buy: The Edge.”
All of Ani’s dreams are about to come true with her new job, wedding and more, but when her fiancé introduces her to a past acquaintance who doesn’t remember her at first, she flashes back to a buried memory of a shocking incident that took place when she was younger.
Shrill violin notes punctuate the moment of recognition and flashback, followed by the unravelling of Ani’s so-called perfect life.
A man approaches her about a crime documentary he is making involving the incident, which happened when she was a teenager at the distinguished Brentley School.
“People wanna know,” he says. “Are you a hero? Or an accomplice?”
“Luckiest Girl Alive” also stars Chiara Aurelia, Scoot McNairy, Thomas Barbusca, Justine Lupe, Dalmar Abuzeid, Alex Barone, Carson MacCormac and Jennifer Beals. Connie Britton appears as well. The adaptation was originally optioned back in 2015 by Lionsgate, with Reese Witherspoon meant to produce the film before it went to producers Lucy Kitada and Erik Fieg for Picturestart.
“Imagine what it’s gonna be like when they find out what happened,” Britton says later on in the clip.
The trailer escalates as Ani’s fiancé asks her why she didn’t tell him about the incident. She explaines that after carrying the “horrible” thing with her alone for so long, she has developed an inner anger, and now she can’t tell which parts of herself are real and which parts she made up. Then a former classmate makes claims against her, telling her not to disclose what happened.
“Sometimes I feel like a windup doll,” Ani says at the end. “Turn my key and I will tell you exactly what you want to hear.”
“Luckiest Girl Alive” will premiere in select theaters September 30 and on Netflix October 7.
