‘Luckiest Girl Alive' on Netflix: Who is Ani Fanelli? Mila Kunis' character is based on traumatic real-life story

Kunis hopes the film helps people find their voice if they feel they've lost it because she feels 'empowered'
UPDATED OCT 2, 2022
'Luckiest Girl Alive' features Mila Kunis as Ani Fanelli in Netflix's new mystery-thriller (Sabrina Lantos/Netflix)
'Luckiest Girl Alive' features Mila Kunis as Ani Fanelli in Netflix's new mystery-thriller (Sabrina Lantos/Netflix)

The Netflix premiere of the movie 'Luckiest Girl Alive' starring Mila Kunis is just around the corner. The film is based on the book of the same name by Jessica Knoll before Netflix adapted it into a movie. The mystery thriller will captivate viewers Friday, Oct 7.

Despite its genre, the film certainly had a touch of 'drama' during production. In August 2015, it was announced that Lionsgate had acquired the film rights to 'Luckiest Girl Alive' by Jessica Knoll, with Reese Witherspoon serving as producer under her Pacific Standard banner. However, in February 2021, it was announced that Mila Kunis would star and Mike Barker would direct the film from a script by Knoll, with Netflix handling distribution and Lionsgate and Witherspoon no longer involved. 'Luckiest Girl Alive' was released in select theaters on Sept 30, 2022, before being released by Netflix in streaming on Oct 7, 2022. Read more about the gruesome past of Kunis' character Ani Fanelli.

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The plot of the novel revolves around an adult woman, Ani Fanelli, who is in control of her life. Ani Fanelli is a successful editor of a women's magazine who is engaged to the man of her dreams. Although her life seems perfect on the outside, it soon turns out that Ani is really faking it and struggling with traumatic events from her past. Ani agrees to participate in a documentary about her high school days, which eventually leads to the heinous truth behind the perfect life she has created coming to light. While filming the documentary, she is forced to deal with two different traumas from her past: first, she was sexually abused by her classmates, and second, she survived a school shooting perpetrated by her boyfriend, whom she kills to stop the attack. Yet through it all, she realizes her own power by facing the truth and her tormentors. However, since this is a Netflix adaptation, we can not be sure if it will exactly resemble the book or if it might be a bit different.

The story which became the best seller of 2015 was partially based on the author, Jessica Knoll's past. According to EW, the author confessed saying, "I always felt this burning need to get this story off my chest somehow, some way, but one day, I just sat down and the voice of Ani Fanelli just poured out of me, and it was nonstop for the next eight months until the book was completed. I still think of it as like a fever dream, a fugue state I went into to write that book." 

The mystery-thriller 'Luckiest Girl Alive' is coming on your screens on October 7th, 2022. Tune into Netflix to watch the Netflix original movie. 

Trailer

You can watch 'Luckiest Girl Alive' movie trailer below



 

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