Frozen River writer-director Courtney Hunt has begun shooting her second film, the courtroom drama The Whole Truth.

The Keanu Reeves vehicle sounds just as compassionate and as unflinching as Hunt’s debut. Reeves stars as a defense attorney who is determined to exonerate a seemingly doomed teenager (Gabriel Basso) charged with murder. Belle actress Gugu Mbatha-Raw plays a young attorney assisting Reeves in learning the truth about their client. Jim Belushi and Renee Zellweger co-star as the teen’s parents.

Hunt said in a statement, “I’m drawn to stories that are as complex as reality, and I gravitate towards actors capable of multi-layered performances, who reveal the chaos and truth of life by reaching for those emotionally unexpected places.”

Frozen River received two Academy Award nominations for Best Actress (Melissa Leo) and Best Original Screenplay (Hunt). It was also named Best Film at Sundance 2008.