Interview with Vanessa Redgrave
Interview with Vanessa Redgrave, who plays Vida Winter in BBC Two's The Thirteenth Tale.
Anticipation is important in filmmaking so thinking about all the choices beforehand and agreeing with the whole team - all these things I love. It’s one of the things I enjoy immensely about making films and I really enjoyed the Thirteenth Tale, it’s quite mysterious."
What attracted you to The Thirteenth Tale?
I was attracted to the part of Vida because she’s a very articulate woman and because Christopher Hampton had written the script, who’s a very, very good film writer as well as playwright. You’re off to a flying start if you’ve got a terrific script. We had a marvellous producer - Norma Heyman - and wonders were accomplished in the length of time we had. I was attracted by the sharp edge to this lady who’s seen enough to not suffer fools gladly. As you get older you find you have something in common with these rather quirky people called old ladies!
Who is Vida?
The character I play is a very successful writer who has published a lot of books and is now not at all well, and clearly not going to be writing anymore. Since film is visual above all, the makeup and wardrobe choices that are made tell a story, as does the camera set up. The first visual impression is the most telling of all in the revealing of a character. I’ve learnt so much about cinema that I love to continue to see what choices people in the various departments make.
How does Vida end up telling Margaret the secrets of her past?
Vida is an elderly writer who needs to tell a story, although she doesn’t really want to. There’s a compulsion inside her to talk to this young woman (Colman) who also has a rather sorrowful shadow in her own past. I’ve not seen the film yet, but I know that the scenes as we shot them were very good and I really liked Vida’s talking with Margaret. Olivia’s a very wonderful actress: focused, very concentrated, which is a gift and was certainly a gift to me - I hope I gave her back what she needed. I really enjoyed our scenes.
There seem to be a lot of interesting facets to this film and the part of Vida, and lots of detail in developing the character?
Anticipation is important in filmmaking so thinking about all the choices beforehand and agreeing with the whole team - all these things I love. It’s one of the things I enjoy immensely about making films and I really enjoyed the Thirteenth Tale, it’s quite mysterious.
