This was a long cherished project for David Lean. He was due to commence filming in 1991 but he fell ill and died soon afterwards. It is probably one of the most celebrated scripts never to be filmed, and Lean's cast would have included Dennis Quaid, Isabella Rossellini, Julian Sands and Paul Scofield, with possible involvement from Marlon Brando.
Serena Scott Thomas plays the wife of Colin Firth's character. Her sister, Kristin Scott Thomas, played his wife the same year in The English Patient.