Poor old Jessica Biel. I’ve always thought she’s a rare case of an actress being held back by her attractiveness, as she’s actually a very good actress, but she nearly always gets shoved into eye candy roles that make her seem far more pointless than she actually is.

However, perhaps going a bit indie will help as Variety reports Biel is in talks to star alongside Kaya Scodelario in the thriller Emanuel and the Truth About Fishes, which is being written and directed by one-half of the Tanner Hall duo, Francesca Gregorini.

The film follows the bizarre relationship between a grieving mother (Jessica Biel), who has lost her child and now carries around a surrogate doll, and the 17-year-old babysitter that comes to take care of this very life-like doll. The young woman goes along with the delusion because the mother looks like her own mom, whom she lost years earlier. It’s bizarre but should allow Biel to showing off her acting skills.

Rooney Mara was originally set to play the babysitter, but had to drop out when the start date of shooting got pushed back from 2011 to 2012.

General movie news courtesy of Movie Muser