- Title: UNITED KINGDOM: Stars gather for the premiere of Charles Dickens biopic
- Date: 27th January 2014
- Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (JANUARY 27, 2014) (REUTERS) SIGN READING (English) "THE INVISIBLE WOMAN PREMIERE" ACTOR WHO PLAYS NELLY TERNAN IN "THE INVISIBLE WOMAN", FELICITY JONES, POSING FOR A PHOTOGRAPH WITH A FAN (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTOR WHO PLAYS NELLY TERNAN IN "THE INVISIBLE WOMAN", FELICITY JONES, SAYING: "I think after their relationship "Great Expectation
- Embargoed: 11th February 2014 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: United Kingdom
- Country: United Kingdom
- Topics: Environment,General
- Reuters ID: LVA4KFGELSKGBGKNNW64P47GMT7
- Story Text: A film depicting the scandalous real-life affair between one of Britain's most celebrated authors, Charles Dickens, and an 18-year-old actress, Nelly Ternan, premiered on Monday (January 27) in London.
"The Invisible Woman" is the second movie directed by Ralph Fiennes after "Coriolanus", and the Academy Award winner does double duty by playing the lead role of Dickens.
His understanding of Dickens is that one of the Victorian era's greatest writers was a highly complex man who could arguably be quite callous.
"He's a contradictory character. He was capable of great acts of generosity. He was a very vital man. A highly energised man. Driven to work. Driven to write his novels. He had sort of this...he was a self-made man in many ways. I think he was possibly a rather controlling father and husband. And I think in this film we have to deal with the way Dickens exited his marriage, which was unfortunate and arguably quite cruel," Fiennes said.
The movie is set at a time when Dickens' relationship with his wife was coming to an end.
In the film, they are seen sleeping in separate rooms. And after Dickens' wife discovers a gift that is supposed to be for his mistress, the author makes her deliver the present to Nelly in person.
The idea that Dickens was a flawed character is also agreed with by Fiennes' co-star, Joanna Scanlan, who plays the author's wife.
"I think you can't expect a great writer to be a good human being. I think that history's told us and real life tells us that those two things don't always go hand in hand," she told Reuters.
A meeting with Nelly leaves Dickens enchanted by her intellectual and emotional prowess.
And it is a relationship that influenced Dickens' portrayal of women in some of his greatest novels, according to Felicity Jones, who plays Nelly.
"I think after their relationship "Great Expectations", he wrote that about three years after they'd been together. And I feel as though you get a lot of Nelly and her mother in that book absolutely," said the up-and-coming actor.
Fiennes agrees with Jones' view and also credits Ternan as having an influence upon the character of Estella in "Great Expectations".
"But I think he had a sort of, some people might say a sentimental view of a perfect woman. I think Nelly was quite tough, she was quite self-possessed and I think he sort of had to meet her halfway. Which is where I think "Great Expectations" comes in, the way that Pip is challenged by Estella's playing hard to get. You know, I think Nelly played hard to get a bit," he said
The film reunites Kristin Scott Thomas and Ralph Fiennes, who starred together in 1996 film "The English Patient".
But Fiennes' chief love interest on this occasion is played by Felicity Jones, who has a number of films coming out in 2014, including "Amazing Spider-Man 2".
"Very excited, yeah, I've worked with some really great people and really pleased to be a part of some really great films," said Jones, when asked about the year ahead.
Jones also found being directed by Fiennes to be a good experience.
"He's fantastic. I mean he's so detailed. That's what I love about him. Everything. The costume, the characterisation. He doesn't let you get away with anything that's phoney or false. It's always about finding the truth," she said.
Joanna Scanlan also found Fiennes to be an intensely clear-sighted director.
"It's quite scary. He's got an enormous intense clarity about what he wants and it feels terrifying that you might not come up with the goods. That's what I felt most of the time was that I wasn't doing that good a job. But he can of course act much better than me so a lot of the time I did want to say, "You play Catherine, you do it, cause you can do it 50 times better than I can do it"," she said. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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