As anyone who has seen Suzie Miller’s acclaimed one-woman stage play will know, Prima Facie is arguably one of the most important pieces of theatre in recent memory. The story of a young barrister, Tessa, who specialises in defending men accused of sexual assault and then finds her view of the legal system changed forever when she herself is assaulted, Miller’s play is a timely, urgent meditation on consent and the flaws in the judicial process. And now it’s also a movie from BAFTA winner Susanna White, starring none other than Wicked‘s Cynthia Erivo as Tessa — and if the trailer is anything to go by, then the film could prove just as powerful as the play. Check it out below;
As we are all too aware, stage-to-screen adaptation can go one of two ways: sometimes you get a Pressure, and sometimes you get, er, Cats. Thankfully, it appears that White’s expansion of Miller’s one-woman play will be more the former than the latter, with Cynthia Erivo — stepping into the role that won the West End and Broadway’s Tess, Jodie Comer, both Olivier and Tony awards — anchoring a story of survival and literal self-defence that leans into its new medium, close-ups and shallow focus and claustrophobic camerawork taking us into Tess’ headspace in ways theatre cannot readily allow. That Miller has written Prima Facie‘s screenplay certainly doesn’t hurt the sense that the story’s in safe hands here, either.
Co-starring the likes of Daniel Ings, Noma Dumezweni, Simon Russell Beale, Toheeb Jimoh, Harry Treadaway, and Andor breakout Elizabeth Dulau, no shortage of talent has assembled to do Prima Facie cinematic justice. And based on first impressions, we’ll be in for a must-see legal drama when Susanna White’s movie hits UK cinemas on November 13.
