Few would call either Meryl Streep or Sigourney Weaver dumb. The two have both made great career decisions, and been rewarded with shelves-worth of hardware for those choices. Hopefully, their starring roles in Useful Idiots will be another smart pick to add to the list. Streep and Weaver were big gets for the team behind Useful Idiots, which Variety characterizes as a “provocative thriller.” The film will be directed by Joseph Cedar, whose previous credits include Norman (2016) and Footnote (2011), from a script he co-wrote with 60 Minutes producer Shachar Bar-On. This will be Bar-On’s first credit not on the news program.
The film will follow Streep’s character, Diane Castle, as she embarks on a tense journey to unveil the wealthy man or woman behind the curtain. Diane is “a veteran journalist who covers the New York luxury property market,” a synopsis reads. “She’s disillusioned with writing puff pieces about the wealthy elite and regretful that she might not have lived up to her potential. When a record-breaking sale of a new penthouse hits her desk, Diane’s questions about the buyer’s identity lead to what could be the story of a lifetime. At its center is a mysterious oligarch whose influence stretches across Manhattan and beyond – protected by a network of fixers, enablers and a brilliant young strategist. Out of her depth, Diane digs deeper into the investigation, her determination to uncover the truth revealing a web of corruption and danger at the highest levels, ensnaring Diane, her family and all those around her.”
It’s not 100 percent clear whether that shadowy oligarch will be played by Weaver, but it seems like a good role for the Alien actor; hopefully she and Streep will get a chance to go head-to-head, at the very least. No additional casting has been revealed as of this writing, but we’ll see what other pawns Streep has to defeat as production begins.
