Legal dramas keep probing consent and power imbalances on screen. Fresh eyes land now on a new official poster for Prima Facie.
Cynthia Erivo appears as rising barrister Tessa Ensler. She wears traditional black robes and a grey wig. A double-exposure effect layers her image for sharp visual impact. The look swaps Elphaba’s green for courtroom formality.
Erivo takes the lead in this adaptation of Suzie Miller’s award-winning play. Miller wrote the screenplay herself. The story follows Tessa’s climb from working-class roots. She builds a career defending men accused of sexual assault. Then assault hits her personally. She questions the system she once mastered.
Susanna White directs.
The BAFTA winner previously handled Andor and Woman Walks Ahead. Production wrapped in London. Shoots used the Old Bailey, Lincoln’s Inn and The Story Works studio. It is a UK-Australian co-production from Bunya Productions and Embankment Films. Sony Pictures handles UK distribution. Erivo also executive produces through her Edith’s Daughter banner.
Supporting players include Daniel Ings as colleague Julian, Noma Dumezweni, Toheeb Jimoh, Simon Russell Beale, Elizabeth Dulau and Harry Treadaway. The ensemble expands the original one-woman stage piece. Jodie Comer originated Tessa on the West End and Broadway. She won Olivier and Tony Awards for Best Actress. Miller’s play also took Best New Play honors.
The film world-premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. Audiences gave a standing ovation. Reviews were mixed on the expansion from monologue to multi-character drama. Erivo’s performance drew consistent praise for its intensity and range.
In a Hollywood Reporter interview ahead of TIFF, Erivo described the role’s demands. “They’re polar opposites, but I think that’s kind of how I like it,” she said of contrasting it with her Wicked work. “I like being able to move from thing to thing, and I don’t want them to be similar.” She added about the emotional toll: “There were times when I’d feel sick and angry or I’d feel betrayed.” An intimacy coordinator helped navigate the hardest scenes.
Erivo hopes the story sparks real talk. “Things can feel like they're permanent if no one does anything to shift or change them,” she told Reuters. “The more we talk about it, the more we see it for what it is, the easier it will become for us to change things.” Miller has long aimed for that impact. Her play stemmed from frustration with how courts handle sexual assault cases.
White framed the visual approach carefully. She turned monologue into cinema through point-of-view shots and courtroom immersion. Real locations and some non-actors grounded the legal details. The poster’s layered effect echoes Tessa’s dual reality—professional armor meeting personal rupture.
UK and Ireland cinemas open Prima Facie on November 13. The timing follows TIFF and sits amid ongoing awards chatter for Erivo. No US distributor is locked yet. International rights already moved through Embankment.
Fans have responded to the consent themes online. The poster fuels that early buzz. Erivo’s post-Wicked slate gains another high-stakes dramatic turn. The film clocks in at nearly 106 minutes. Its courtroom climax tests every tactic Tessa once deployed against survivors.
This release marks another step for stories that put legal process under the microscope. Erivo’s Tessa carries the weight. The poster makes that plain at a glance. Audiences will soon judge the full case for themselves.
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