EXCLUSIVE: Mark O’Brien (Ready or Not) is set to topline Good in the Room, an indie crime thriller that he co-wrote with Canadian filmmaker Pat Kiely, who will direct.

Laysla De Oliveira (Lioness), Andrew “King Bach” Bachelor (The Babysitter), and Eric Bruneau (Fanny) are also set for key roles, with Maia Jae (Ready or Not 2: Here I Come) and Juliette Gariepy (Mile End Kicks) rounding out the cast.

Currently in production in Montreal, Good in the Room follows former hockey player Charlie (O’Brien), who partners with ex-teammate Julius (Bachelor) to rob the sport’s biggest star and Charlie’s best friend, JP (Bruneau).

Shooting entirely on 16mm, the film channels ’70s crime thrillers such as The Friends of Eddie Coyle, Straight Time and Thief. O’Brien said, “I’ve always been drawn to stories about men who make one wrong turn and can’t find their way back. As Pat and I entered middle age, we wanted to use the crime thriller to examine jealousy, envy and loyalty and felt our shared experience around playing and loving the sport of hockey was the perfect lens to do so.”

In his fourth theatrical feature outing, Kiely (Mile End Kicks) is producing Good in the Room alongside Philippe Chabot (Little Bird) for the Quebec-based Banner House Productions and Julian Geneen (Crash Land) for the Ontario-based Grand Touring Productions (Ontario). Executive producers are Ryan Bobkin (Blue Heron), Albert Shin (Disappearance at Clifton Hill), Mark Slone (Youngblood), Sardé Hardie (Little Lorraine) and O’Brien (The Righteous). Evan Dubinsky (Mile End Kicks) serves as co-producer. Produced with the participation of Telefilm Canada, SODEC and Crave, the film will be released by Maison 4:3 in Quebec and by Photon Films elsewhere in Canada. ROW sales are currently open.

Known for roles in films like Nuremberg, Ready or Not and Arrival, O’Brien has wrapped on the directorial feature project Nice People, a horror comedy where he stars alongside Ella Bleu Travolta, Sosie Bacon and more. Upcoming, he’ll also be seen in Warner Bros.’ F.A.S.T., Netflix’s conspiracy thriller series Trinity and more. In television, his credits include The Copenhagen Test, 61st Street, Perry Mason, City on a Hill and Halt and Catch Fire, to name a few. He is represented by UTA, The Characters Talent Agency, Lichter, Grossman, Nichols and Thruline Entertainment.

Kiely produced Chandler Levack’s TIFF-premiering coming-of-age film Mile End Kicks, starring Barbie Ferreira, and returns to the director’s chair following work on titles including Who is KK Downey?, Three Night Stand and Another Kind of Wedding. He told Deadline, “I’m deeply grateful to the team bringing this film to life, born out of Montreal’s obsession with hockey and the brutal economics of success that play out on both the ice and in the entertainment industry. I am genuinely excited for audiences to join us on this ride as we grapple with getting older and the choices that have led us here.”

Kiely is repped by Great North Artists; De Oliveira by Gersh, Wright Entertainment Inc. and Myman Greenspan; Bachelor by Christina Bachelor, CAA, Artists First and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller; and Bruneau by Agence Goodwin and Amanda Rosenthal Talent Agency.