Courtney Love has signed on to The Possibility of Fireflies (based on the YA novel of the same name) to play what sounds like a rather meta character, based on public/media-fueled perceptions of the musician — who’s been the butt of an intense and sometimes unfair level scrutiny and scorn (especially over her gendered roles as mother and widow), but who also has, within her paparazzi-invaded personal life, legitimately had quite a few issues with self-destructive tendencies that have led to custody battles.
Described as a “self-destructive mother” in the film’s official summary and as someone who’s taken “a break from mothering” in the Amazon description of the book, Love will play the single parent of the protagonist, Ellie (played by Fargo‘s Joey King). Ellie is grappling both with her mother’s issues (and seeming neglect) and her “volatile metal-head sister’s” likewise self-destructive tendencies (and all of the grappling will, according to the Hollywood Reporter, be set to an “80s-themed” soundtrack). The somewhat lonely teen — in suburban Maryland in 1989, which sure, why not, might be a lonely place and time — is therefore mesmerized by the sudden presence of a rocker dude neighbor. Per the book description, she hopes he “will be the one to rescue her from her unhappy life” (or as the film itself is described, “she finds herself caught in the alluring undertow of a reckless rock n’ roll freedom”) until she realizes that “no one can save you” and that “you have to go after what you want.”
The film, adapted by Dominique Paul (the author of the book), will be directed by Deborah Chow, who said in a statement:
We’re so thrilled to secure such an incredibly talented duo in Joey King and Courtney Love to lead this cast…Joey has proven herself to be one of the most talented young actresses working today, and as an iconic rock musician, who is also a versatile and fearless actress, Courtney is the perfect fit for this music-infused story.