Helen Mirren joins Sam Riley in 'Brighton Rock'

The brilliant Helen Mirren, who recently delivered a powerful performance as newspaper editor in "State of Play," has joined Sam Riley and Andrea Riseborough in Rowan Joffe's upcoming film "Brighton Rock." Also joining the cast is Pete Postlethwaite ("In The Name of the Father").

As Variety points out, the film is based on Graham Greene's novel "Brighton Rock." The story follows a young gangster who marries a waitress in order to protect himself and keep her quiet after she witnesses him murdering somebody.

The first time the book made it onto the screen was in 1947 with Richard Attenborough in a film directed by John Boulting. The new version will be based on the book rather than the film, and the story will be set in the '60s.

I think it's interesting to point out that Joffe co-wrote the script for the recent horror hit "28 Weeks Later." As far as Mirren is concerned, the Oscar-winning actress also recently starred in the disappointing "Inkheart." She's got "The Tempest" and "Love Ranch" coming up soon.