Natalie Portman to lead HBO Film's 'The Days of Abandonment' adaptation

The project, which is currently in pre-production, is an adaptation of Italian author Elena Ferrante’s 2005 best-selling novel of the same title, reported Variety.

Portman, 39, will star as Tess, a woman who abandons her own dreams for a stable home life, is in turn abandoned by her husband.

To be written and directed by Maggie Betts, the movie will delve into the mind of a woman in crisis, who "confronts the norms of motherhood and female identity as Tess traverses the darkest reaches of her own psyche".

Portman, who won an Oscar for her performance in 2010 psychological drama "Black Swan", will also serve as executive producer alongside Betts, Ferrante, Sophie Mas, Celine Rattray, Trudie Styler, Len Amato, Domenico Procacci and Maria Zuckerman.

HBO Films will produce the movie in collaboration with Medusa.