Harry, a friend who wishes you well: where is the American remake?

Harry, a friend who wants you well : the revelation Sergi Lopez

For his second feature film, director Dominik Moll decides to go in a very “Hitchcockian” direction with a very disturbing title: Harry, a friend who wants you well. For his casting, he hired three actors who would later become essential actors during the following decades. The first is the French Laurent Lucas, today well known for his dark supporting roles. The second is Mathilde Seigner, a colorful actress in her films as well as outside the cinema. The third, and not the least, is the Spanish actor Sergi Lopez. Moll’s choice to make him play the disturbing Harry is also surprising, as the actor was more known for his comic roles than anything else. The bet proved to be fruitful, however, since Sergi Lopez wins the Cesar for best actor thanks to this film.

Harry, a friend who wants you well follows the couple formed by Claire and Michel, who are on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Between the heat wave that is raging, their three children who are unbearable, and their vacation home which is still under construction, the summer is not looking rosy at all. It is in this context that Michel meets Harry, an old friend from childhood. Beneath his altruistic airs, however, the latter upsets the existence of this family …and not in the best possible way.

Michael Scofield writing the US remake

Twelve years after the triumph ofHarry a friend who wants you well, Hollywood wanted to offer its own version, as it has been doing for a good half century. This is how, according to Variety, the production company Focus Features had acquired the rights to the film in order to offer a remake. Part of the technical team had even been recruited for the occasion. Thus, the realization had been entrusted to Kimberly Peirce who had become known with the drama Boys don’t cry (Hilary Swank was first Oscar winner thanks to this film). As for the screenplay, it was to be written by Wentworth Miller. Indeed, if the latter became a star following his role as Michael Scofield in the series Prison Break, he then diversified by also becoming a screenwriter. His first work was the film Stoker.

However, if he reported a progress of the project between 2012 and 2014, it completely disappeared from radars afterwards. So much so that we don’t know today if Harry, a friend who wants you well US version is still in production or has been officially discontinued.