Viola Davis To Star In Film Adaption of Small Great Things

Viola Davis has no intention of slowing down, ever. After picking up her Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Fences on Sunday, Deadline reported she is set to star in the film adaption, alongside Julia Roberts, of Jodi Picoult’s New York Times Bestseller, Small Great Things. The duo’s last project together was the 2010 film adaptation of Eat Pray Love.

Small Great Things centers on a labor/delivery nurse who takes care of newborns at a Connecticut hospital. She is ordered not to touch the baby of a white supremacist couple. When the baby dies in her care, she is then taken to court by the couple and charged with a serious crime.

What a timely moment for a movie like this to be in the works, especially given the current climate of the United States. This story touches on race, civil rights for all citizens, the justice system and privilege. The book does a good job of examining racism both subtly and overtly in a way that leaves readers with questions about themselves, privilege, and power sparking insightful discussions. If the book can do that, we can not wait to see how the film amplifies the message! The audiobook also features Queen Audra McDonald.

The selfish part of me is really here for Viola Davis going off on a racist white woman (and she doesn’t have to play a maid to do it) *insert upside down smiley face*.