Dame Helen Mirren has said she had "no idea" where the script for her new film, A Talent For Murder, would go, describing it as a "page-turner" that kept her guessing.
The film, adapted by Joanna Murray-Smith from her play Switzerland, stars Alden Ehrenreich as Edward Ridgeway, a young literary editor at a New York publishing house sent to Switzerland to persuade the renowned author Patricia Highsmith to write one final instalment of the Ripley anthology.
Playing a Reclusive Author
Highsmith, an American writer best known for her psychological thrillers including five novels featuring Tom Ripley, was largely a recluse in Switzerland during her final years and died aged 74 in 1995.
Speaking to the Press Association at the London premiere, Dame Helen said the lack of material about Highsmith's final years gave her a "sense of freedom" in portraying the character.
She said: "Of course, you want to be accurate to the way a person is, the way they move, the way they sound, the way they look, all of that sort of thing. Although this film is not a documentary, it's a drama, I felt it was very important to inhabit Patricia Highsmith as truthfully as possible. But the fact that she is, to the audience, is a sort of unknown character gave me a freedom."
Vanity and the Role
Dame Helen admitted she had to lose a sense of vanity to play the part, noting that Highsmith was "no great beauty" and that "booze and life really took its toll on her" towards the end of her life.
She added: "She probably would have hated me playing her, because I'm in the end, I'm quite feminine. You know, she'd hate this sort of outfit."
Highsmith wrote 22 novels over a career spanning nearly five decades, with her work adapted into more than two dozen films and TV series, including The Talented Mr Ripley starring Matt Damon in 1999.
Director's Approach
Director Anton Corbijn said he did not know a significant amount of Highsmith's catalogue, but was drawn to the movies based on her books. "I know some of her work but because it's not a biography, I didn't have to read all her stuff," he said.
The film takes creative liberties with Highsmith's story, ending with a disclaimer that Corbijn said was a requirement: "It was a condition for us to make the film that her estate insisted on us putting in."
Corbijn, known for directing music videos for Depeche Mode, U2, and Coldplay's Viva La Vida, said filmmaking and music direction were "completely different" worlds.
A Talent For Murder also stars Olivia Cooke as Clementine Balfour, a young American heiress and Edward's love interest. The film is released in cinemas on November 20.
