Helen Mirren stars as Patricia Highsmith in Anton Corbijn’s new biopic

Helen Mirren portrays a dying Patricia Highsmith in Anton Corbijn’s new film A Talent for Murder, a dramatized look at the author’s later life based on recollections from those who worked with her, The Guardian reports.

What does the film reveal about Highsmith’s personality?

The movie shows Highsmith as taciturn and difficult, echoing editor Otto Penzler’s memory that she signed books in five minutes and once dismissed a conversation about France with “I can’t stand the bloody frogs”, according to The Guardian.

How accurate are the film’s details?

Corbijn built the set from real anecdotes – water‑glass‑filled cigarettes, a tank of pet snails and a self‑designed “Bond‑villain bunker” – all drawn from the author’s actual habits, The Guardian notes.

Who were the key figures in Highsmith’s later career?

Publisher Otto Penzler signed a six‑book deal in 1984 after a poorly attended reading at his New York shop, while Swiss editor Anna von Planta recalled Highsmith ordering a beer and falling silent on their first meeting, both detailed by The Guardian. Gary Fisketjon, her final American editor, published Found in the Street (1987) and Ripley Under Water (1991) and remembered her as a “superstar in Germany” who taught him how to drink beer with the foam on top, The Guardian adds.