Ben Wheatley's action thriller Free Fire to close London Film Festival

Free Free will be released in the UK next year

An action thriller starring Brie Larson will close this year's BFI London Film Festival, it has been announced.

Free Fire, set in Massachusetts in the 1970s, will be shown at the Odeon Leicester Square on 16 October as part of the closing night gala.

Ben Wheatley, the film's director, said being chosen to close the festival was a "great honour".

It is his third film to be shown at the festival, following High Rise in 2015 and Sightseers in 2012.

The plot sees Larson's character Justine brokering a meeting in a deserted warehouse between two Irishmen and a gang who are selling them a stash of guns.

Things turn violent when shots are fired during the handover and the film then follows the repercussions.

Cillian Murphy, Michael Smiley and Sharlto Copley are also among the cast.

"I'm very proud to be showing Free Fire at the BFI London Film Festival," Wheatley said.

"LFF [The London Film Festival] have been fantastic in supporting the films I've made - me and an army of hundreds - and I can't wait to show Free Fire to the festival audience."

The 60th BFI London Film Festival takes place from 5-16 October.

The opening film has already been announced as A United Kingdom, directed by Amma Asante.

Free Fire will be released in the UK in 2017.