The film follows Alice Eckle (Jessica Biel), a somewhat naïve roller-skating waitress in a small Indiana town, who is about to get engaged to her trooper boyfriend, Scott (James Marsden). At the fancy Gondola restaurant when Alice has an engagement ring on her finger, a clumsy workman accidentally shoots her in the head with a nail gun.
The film was originally directed by Academy Award nominated filmmaker David O. Russell (American Hustle, Silver Linings Playbook), but due to difficulties with financing he decided to the leave the film in 2010. The film was completed without Russell’s involvement and the film is credited to “Stephen Greene”, a synonym used after Russell disowned the project.
Accidental Love stars multiple BAFTA and Golden Globe nominee Jake Gyllenhaal, who has long been admired for his range as an actor, drawing rave reviews from his performances in Enemy (2015), Prisoners (2013), Zodiac (2007) and Brokeback Mountain (2005). Gyllenhaal most recently received his first Academy Award nomination for playing the eerie portrayal of Louis “Lou” Bloom in Dan Gilroy’s critically acclaimed Nightcrawler (2014).