Vicky Krieps and Christian Friedel joins the ensemble cast of The Idiots: Here’s what we know

Vicky Krieps, who is at Cannes with the Un Certain Regard title Love Me Tender, joins the cast of The Idiots along with The Zone of Interest star Christian Friedel. They will be a part of the ensemble that includes acclaimed actors like Aimee Lou Wood and Johnny Flynn (as the leads), along with Barbara Marten (Dune: Prophecy) and Rainer Bock (The White Ribbon).

The film is being directed by Malgorzata Szumowska and Michal Englert, who have also co-written the script with Kasper Bajon and Brid Arnstein.

It is based on a story from Andrew D. Kaufman’s novel, The Gambler Wife: A True Story of Love, Risk, and the Woman Who Saved Dostoyevsky, which revolves around Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky and his wife Anna Dostoyevskaya. Szumowska and Englert's film follows a specific chapter in their lives that led to Dostoyevsky's novel The Idiot.

Ilya Stewart and Vladimir Zemtsov are producing this film for Hype Studios and Gold Rush Pictures. The international distribution will be handled by The Match Factory.

What is The Idiots about? Details about the film starring Aimee Lou Wood and Johnny Flynn

The official logline for The Idiots reads:

"The story of the courageous woman who saved the life of literary icon Fyodor Dostoevsky and, as the first woman to found her own publishing house, became a pioneer in the country's literary history."

The film will center around Anna, who remained a courageous and crucial figure in Fiedya’s Fyodor Dostoyevsky's life. It will show Anna and Fiedya while on their honeymoon trip in Baden, Germany — the period in the author's life that inspired him to write his 1869 novel The Idiot. It was a commercial failure upon its release, but over the years, it has become one of the classics in literary history.

Aimee Lou Wood has been cast as Anna, while Johnny Flynn has been cast as the novelist.

More details on the cast and directors behind The Idiots

Malgorzata Szumowska and Michal Englert, the Polish filmmaking duo behind The Idiots have been collaborating since 2020. They have co-directed films like Woman Of... (2023) and Never Gonna Snow Again Camerimage (2020) that were nominated for Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. In 2022, they co-directed Infinite Storm, starring Mulholland Drive star Naomi Watts.

Szumowska has had a long directorial career of over two decades. Her earlier work like Stranger (2004) and Szczesliwy czlowiek (2000) garnered her critical acclaim, and earned her European Discovery nominations at the European Film Awards. Later, her 2015 film, Body, earned her a Best Director Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival while her 2018 film, Mug, earned her Jury Grand Prix.

Englert had an extensive career as a cinematographer before he joined Szumowska on a directorial journey. He has shot most of her films, like 33 Scenes from Life (2008), Elles (2011), and In The Name Of (2013), besides the aforementioned titles and their directorial collaborations.

The cast of The Idiots includes Aimee Lou Wood, the star of HBO's The White Lotus Season 3, who has won a BAFTA for her performance in Netflix's Sex Education. She also starred alongside Oscar-nominated Bill Nighy in Oliver Hermanus's Living. Her co-star Johnny Flynn starred in Netflix's Ripley, alongside Andrew Scott. He was also seen in Olivier Assayas's Clouds of Sils Maria (2014) and James Hawes' One Life (2023).

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Vicky Krieps, who joins the cast, had her breakthrough with Phantom Thread (2017), where she starred alongside Daniel Day-Lewis. She also stars in the Deborah Levy adaptation, Hot Milk (2025), alongside Emma Mackey. Christian Friedel, recently seen in The White Lotus, has starred in The White Ribbon (2009) and 13 Minutes (2015).

Per The Hollywood Reporter, The Idiots is expected to enter the production stage in June 2025.

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