Brosnan, Thompson partners in crime in romantic comedy

MANILA, Philippines - It’s a dream team pairing in the upcoming romantic caper, The Love Punch, starring ever-sassy Emma Thompson and always-charming Pierce Brosnan as ex-couple who reunite to steal back the money stolen from their retirement fund.

The Love Punch sees middle aged and divorced, company owner Richard Jones (Brosnan) looking forward to a worry-free existence as he arrives at his office on his last day of work. Much to his dismay, he discovers that the management buyout of his company was fraudulent. The company is now bankrupt and the employee pension fund — including his own — has been embezzled. Enlisting the help of his ex-wife Kate (Thompson), Richard sets out to track down the shady businessman behind this, Vincent Kruger. Before they know it, Richard and Kate are caught up in a cat-and-mouse caper across Europe in a whirlwind of intrigue, mad chases and jewelry theft during which they rekindle their romance.

Five years after Last Chance Harvey’s international success, screenwriter and director Joel Hopkins wished again to team up with Thompson. Straight away, the actress was excited about the story of a couple, divorced for eight years, who embark on a roller-coaster journey. â€œI got excited by the idea of this ‘classic’ couple movie,” Hopkins explains. “The starting point is to find a pairing that really excites me even before writing the script and then build a story around them. I really like to cast the movie in my head while I’m writing.” Nicola Usborne, Hopkins’ wife and producing partner, agrees: “We’ve worked together for 15 years and Joel always begins with characters or preferably with actors and then builds an arc around them.”

Brosnan is enthusiastic about the filmmaker: “Joel as a director has a very good ear for the rhythm of comedy and for the articulation of speech and pacing of dialogue,” he says.

Thompson compares the way Hopkins directs actors to the careful making of a dessert: “It’s very delicate and it’s all about finding the right balance of ingredients,” she comments. “It’s really like a soufflé doing this kind of work — you have to get the air into the mix just to make something that really rises. That’s what you want in a director — someone who absolutely collaborates and lets you try things but who also tells you ‘I want it like this and not like that.’”

Brosnan is just as excited about France as the director: “I’ve come here over the years with James Bond, but this has been the most in-depth experience with a 100-percent French shoot,” he contends. “You’re surrounded by this sense of cinematic history, and it permeates your being.”

 The Love Punch, from Axinite Digicinema with media partners 105.1 Crossover and Global News Network, is showing on April 19 in theaters nationwide.