Cast your mind back to 2012.

It was a simpler time: Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel were getting married, Skyfall was the biggest movie in the world and everybody was reading Where’d You Go, Bernadette. Maria Semple’s bestselling novel about a missing mum and her daughter’s quest to unravel the mysteries of her life, was an instant hit courtesy of its warm, winning tone and its mix of hilarity and heartbreak.

And now it’s getting the Hollywood treatment, with a film adaptation coming to cinemas in 2019 featuring no less than Cate Blanchett as the titular Bernadette.

Here’s everything you need to know about the movie.

Where can I see the trailer?

Ever since the movie was announced way back in 2015, fans have eagerly waited to see what it might look like. Today they are rewarded with the release of the first trailer of the Seattle-set film. 

It already looks like a faithful, loving adaptation of the novel, from Blanchett’s bob haircut down to co-star Billy Crudup (as dad Elgie) in the wardrobe of tech company employees everywhere: cycling lycra.

Emma Nelson rounds out the cast as their 15-year-old daughter Bee, whose one wish is for the family to go on a holiday to Antarctica. 

Who is in it?

Not happy to settle for the main family trio of Blanchett, Crudup and Nelson, director Richard Linklater (he of Boyhood and the Before Sunrise trilogy) has assembled a fantastic cast for the film.

Judy Greer stars as therapist Dr Kurtz and then there’s Kristen Wiig, Laurence Fishburne and Pretty Little Liars’ Troian Bellisario.

Behind-the-scenes, you have screenwriting team Holly Gent Palmo and Vince Palmo, whose collaboration with director Linklater dates back to Dazed & Confused. Kari Perkins, who also worked with Linklater on Boyhood and Last Flag Flying, is the costume designer. 

What is it about?

In the novel Where’d You Go, Bernadette, the focus is squarely on Bernadette’s life. She’s not perfect, in fact, she’s far from it. But that’s what makes her interesting. Why is she so anxious? Why does she hate leaving the house? Why did she stop working as an architect? Why is she so reticent to go to Antarctica? These are all questions that the novel aims to answer.

“If a character is happy, well-adjusted and their life is peachy, well, there’s no story,” author Maria Semple said of her protagonist. “Characters only spring to life when they’re in conflict. If it’s the character against the world, that’s a promising start.”

Sounds like the kinds of movies we like to watch.

When can we see it?

Where’d You Go, Bernadette is in cinemas on March 22.