Cate Blanchett in Where'd You Go, Bernadette?

Couldn’t get tickets for When We Have Sufficiently Tortured Each Other? Fear not, you’ll soon be able to see Cate Blanchett, even if the rest of the cast can’t, in Where’d You Go, Bernadette, a film adaptation of Maria Semple’s hit novel. Blanchett plays the missing Bernadette, an agoraphobic architect who disappears just before a family trip to Antarctica.

The book tells its story though a series of emails and transcripts, as Bernadette’s fifteen-year-old daughter Bee leads the chase to find her. Newcomer Emma Nelson plays Bee, whilst the cast also includes Judy Greer, Kristen Wiig, Billy Crudup and Laurence Fishburne.

The first trailer gives an indication as to how director Richard Linklater (Before Sunrise, Boyhood) will visualize the book’s structure. Its comedic tone suggests that the satire for which the book was praised will, hopefully, translate to the big screen.

Linklater made his name with male-focused coming-of-age films such as Slacker and Dazed and Confused. He may seem like an unusual fit for a story about a woman’s mid-life crisis, but his films have showcased a number of rich female performances, from Julie Delpy’s Céline in the Before trilogy to Patricia Arquette’s Olivia in Boyhood. Arquette won an Oscar for her role, so hopes are high for Linklater’s first collaboration with the two-time Oscar winner Blanchett.

The UK release date is yet to be confirmed, however Where’d You Go, Bernadette is expected to come out this Spring.