Anne Berry's "The Water Children"

Anne Berry was born in London and moved to Hong Kong at the age of six, where she was educated. She founded a small drama school, writing and directing more than thirty plays in ten years, and now lives in Surrey with her husband and four children. Her first novel, The Hungry Ghosts, was a finalist for the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize.

Here she dreamcasts an adaptation of her latest novel, The Water Children:

More than any of my novels as I was writing The Water Children I could see it unrolling cinematically. All the ingredients of an excellent film naturally came together, as well as the practical elements which would make filming possible. The plot, though it starts with tragedy rapidly changes gear and becomes a gripping, edge of the seat thriller where a baby’s life hangs in the balance. It has a cast of four main characters, Owen, Catherine, Naomi and Sean, each completely different and utterly unique. And there would be the bonus of two superb parts for women, in short supply these days. Then we have the contained locations, a basement market, a seedy flat in Covent Garden, a mysterious reservoir high in the Tuscan mountains where an entire village was drowned and may still be glimpsed in its depths. The tortured pasts of the children could be handled with flashback sequences.

Now to my actors. For Owen perhaps Ryan Gosling, or that outstanding British actor Edward Redmayne. He has both on stage and on screen an extraordinary heart breaking vulnerability that would make him perfect for Owen. Jeremy Renner is Sean, the wide boy, the Irish dreamer with a dangerous streak in his flawed nature. Catherine would be played beautifully by Bryce Dallas Howard or Jennifer Lawrence. A young Jenny Agutter would have epitomised her character. And finally my femme fatale, unpredictable and deadly, Natalie Portman or Megan Fox. The British actress I would like to see bringing Naomi alive is that tour de force, Eve Best. Just picturing it and imagining them acting and speaking the dialogue is a sheer joy!

Learn more about the book and author at Anne Berry's website.

The Page 69 Test: The Water Children.

Writers Read: Anne Berry.

--Marshal Zeringue