Content warning: this post contains descriptions of sexual assault.
Mila Kunis is the “Luckiest Girl Alive” in Netflix’s latest book-to-movie adaptation (or is she?). The movie, based on New York Times bestselling author Jessica Knoll’s 2015 novel of the same name, stars Kunis as Ani FaNelli, “a sharp-tongued New Yorker” living in her own perfect world – until a crime documentary that revisits her dark high school past threatens to unravel everything.
Though “Luckiest Girl Alive” is a fictional story, Knoll previously told the “Today” show that her novel – which sold over 450,000 copies – was shaped by her own experiences. In the book, Ani survives a gang rape, a similar experience the author had when she was 15 years old and assaulted by three boys at a party. “I knew it the morning that I opened my eyes. I just felt horrible and violated and I knew it was wrong,” Knoll said in her March 2016 interview. “It was terribly hard to go to school everyday. I look back on that year and I just remember feeling completely raw.” She added, “I felt like an exposed nerve. If you just touched me, I just shrivelled up in pain. That’s all I can recall about that year of my life.”
“Today” reported that Knoll wrote about the incident in detail in a since-deleted essay for an online newsletter called Lenny. She also dedicated her book to fellow sexual-assault survivors and wrote in it, “To all the TifAni FaNellis of the world, I know.”
Netflix’s adaptation of “Luckiest Girl Alive,” written by Knoll and directed by Mike Barker, is produced by Kunis, Bruna Papandrea, Jeanne Snow, Erik Feig, and Lucy Kitada. The movie arrives in theatres in September ahead of its streaming debut this fall.
Read ahead for everything we know about “Luckiest Girl Alive” so far, including the cast and release date.
“Luckiest Girl Alive” Plot
The thriller’s synopsis says the movie follows Ani (Kunis), “a sharp-tongued New Yorker who appears to have it all: a sought-after position at a glossy magazine, a killer wardrobe and a dream Nantucket wedding on the horizon. But when the director of a crime documentary invites her to tell her side of the shocking incident that took place when she was a teenager at the prestigious Brentley School, Ani is forced to confront a dark truth that threatens to unravel her meticulously crafted life.”
“Luckiest Girl Alive” Cast
In addition to Kunis, the film stars Finn Wittrock, Chiara Aurelia, Scoot McNairy, Thomas Barbusca, Justine Lupe, Dalmar Abuzeid, Alex Barone, Carson MacCormac, Jennifer Beals, and Connie Britton.
“Luckiest Girl Alive” Release Date
The movie hits select theatres on Sept. 30 and premieres on Netflix worldwide on Oct. 7.
