COMING SOON : THE BITTER END .... EMBANKMENT FILMS / JOHN GORE STUDIOS ..

 

Synopsis

“You have no idea how hard it is to live out a great romance…”

American socialite Wallis Simpson's life took a dramatic turn when she met King Edward VIII. Their love affair and the King's priority to marry "the woman I love" led to his abdication, causing one of the biggest crises in British monarchy and Simpson becoming the most talked-about woman in the world.

Simpson's influence upon fashion and style was globally significant. 

Known for her elegant and daring fashion choices, she captivated a generation and was often imitated by women throughout the world. 

Indeed, in finding her own purpose, she reflected “I’m not a beautiful woman. I’m nothing to look at, so the only thing I can do is dress better than anyone else”.

After the Duke of Windsor’s death in 1972 the press withdrew from their vitriolic attacks with “Hands off OUR King!” - assuming Simpson’s (Joan Collins) ‘quiet’ life in a Parisian Chateau under the ‘protection’ of three trusted people.

But this generous, gregarious, and inquisitive woman is in deepest loneliness - susceptible to those she cherishes.

Enter: Jean-Claude, Baron de Montalbon (Laurent Lafitte), her devoted friend and colourful chaperone; and Louis, her handsome and fiercely loyal Bahamian butler (Buom Tihngang) - two crucial allies.

Enter: Maître Suzanne Blum (Isabella Rossellini), Paris’s most celebrated lawyer – Simpson’s confidante. 

Hired as protector, Blum turns predator. Her professional mask hides an obsession. 

Staff are dismissed. Friends are ostracized. Treasures disappear to auction. 

This is a game of entrapment and Blum plays the hunter, deploying her devious devotion to gaslighting and control.

Simpson and her allies fight back to outwit Blum in an increasingly menacing game of high-stakes chess. 

Can they wrestle back control?

Freedom from those, that hunt and harm, is what matters.

Director

Mike Newell

Starring

Joan Collins    Isabella Rossellini 

PRESS UPDATE ... SCREEN DAILY ... MAY 15TH 2025 ..

 

John Gore Studios, Embankment unveil first look at Joan Collins and Isabella Rossellini in ‘The Bitter End’

By Mona Tabbara15 May 2025

EXCLUSIVE: John Gore Studios and Embankment Films have unveiled a first look at Joan Collins and Isabella Rossellini in Mike Newell’s The Bitter End.  

Miranda Richardson, star of The Last Anniversary and Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire, Game Of Thrones and Frankenstein actor Charles Dance, and Elle star Laurent Lafitte have joined the cast, as production gets underway in the UK. It is the first production to shoot at the historic Ealing Studios following its recent expansion and renovation.

The film charts the untold story of the final years of Wallis Simpson, the American divorcee who became the Duchess of Windsor after marrying King Edward VIII, the British king who chose love over duty.   

Collins stars as Simpson alongside Rossellini as Suzanne Blum, the formidable French lawyer and confidante of Simpson who at the hands of Blum found herself ensnared in a menacing grip of obsession and coercive control.

Four Weddings And A Funeral filmmaker Newell directs, with John Gore of John Gore Studios, Richard Holmes and Francis Hopkinson producing. Louise Fennell writes the script. 

Richardson is an Oscar and Bafta nominee and Golden Globe winner for her role in Enchanted April. Dance is Emmy-nominated for his role in The Crown. 

Further cast includes Buom Tihngang, Yves Heck, Roxane Duran, Jill Baker, Lambert Wilson, Philippe Spall, Richard Meek, David Langham and David Bamber. 

Key creatives are Oscar and Bafta-winning Shakespeare In Love costume designer Sandy Powell, Oscar and Bafta-winning Poor Things hair and make-up designer Nadia Stacey, Emmy-winning Game Of Thrones production designer Gemma Jackson and the Bafta-winning director of photography Mike Eley, whose credits include The Dig.

“We are thrilled to announce the exceptional cast and creative team joining Joan Collins and Isabella Rossellini in The Bitter End,” said Gore. “Assembling a team of this calibre – under Mike Newell’s direction, from Louise Fennell’s sharp script to the extraordinary talents of Sandy Powell, Nadia Stacey, Gemma Jackson and Mike Eley – speaks to the strength of the project. It’s an exciting project for John Gore Studios as we commit to producing distinctive British stories for global audiences.”

Embankment handles world sales on the film