Fifty Shades Darker star Dakota Johnson has joined the 1920s courtroom drama Unfit, according to Deadline. The film is based on the book “Imbeciles: The Supreme Court, American Eugenics and the Sterilization of Carrie Buck” by Adam Cohen. The book was longlisted for the 2016 National Book Award for Nonfiction.
The logline reads, “In the not-so-distant past, America was gripped by a political movement that promised to eliminate the ‘unfit’ from our country. Unfit is the true story of Carrie Buck, a young Virginia woman who became a lightning rod for that movement, whose 1927 Supreme Court case Buck v. Bell legalized the sterilization of “undesirable” citizens. Buck was forced to fight against it singlehandedly for the one thing she desperately wanted: to be a mother.”
“Like many, I was not privy to this shocking and fascinating moment in American history,” says Johnson. “I quickly became obsessed with the prospect of shedding light on the massive misstep in American justice. Carrie Buck’s story is poignant and galvanizing, and certain aspects are unnervingly congruent with the relationship between the government and women today. It is an important story that alongside RatPac and Amazon, I am honored and eager to tell.”
Amazon Studios will take on the pic with Brett Ratner and John Cheng from RatPac Entertainment as producers. Johnson will executive produce under her Silhouette Productions. The script will be written by Melissa London Hilfers, a former lawyer.
