A Décima Terceira História

the presence of Vanessa Redgrave could be a guarantee about this film. but it is more. because it is not only a beautiful film but a wise one. not victim of many easy solutions - useful for many Gothic stories - but delicate and precise, gentle and care to each obstacle. a movie who remembers many old stories. but it has courage to not be only one of them. the key is the intelligent performance of lead actresses. and the spirit of old world - tower of secrets, deaths and the best servants. but the secret remains the clash between feelings, past and future, the limits and shadows of characters as a puzzle. that seems be all. a movie who has not ambition to be remarkable. but it is really good.

'The Thirteenth Tale', a new BBC drama, tells the story of madness in an upper class family. There's a twist in the tale, but finding a way to convey it critically maims the dramatic structure: the story is told, entirely in hindsight, in a way that kills engagement, promoting the mundane story of the telling into the foreground over the potentially more interesting story that's actually being told. One can also note that this is the sort of tale where, however neglected or crazy its young protagonists are supposed to be, they never fail to look anything but ravishing. I found it psychologically unconvincing and essentially dull.

Director James Kent has a sensitive touch that deserves recognition and praise in this age of formulaic CGI films where character is more often than not ignored, or simply mass-produced to wooden specifications.

The film's curious title, THE THIRTEEN TALE, refers to a book of just 12 tales. The 13th tale amounts to the narrative that its dying author - superbly portrayed by Vanessa Redgrave - is conveying to a contracted biographer, intelligently played by Janet Amsden. The author's name I could not narrow down to Adeline or Emmeline because of the strange, almost transmutable relation between the twin sisters. However, one can reasonably assume that the 13th and final is the tale written by Amsden, who reveals that she too had a twin sister who died knocked down by a car, a death for which she blames herself. Thus, Redgrave and Amsden in a sense become spiritual twins, too, and that final tale is the result of their collaboration which starts edgily but ends on a tender, friendly note.

This TV film largely shot in a decaying manor house that still reflects past grandeur has the quality of Gothic vision and contained horror interlaced with credible, if deliberately evasive, characterization. Bedridden Redgrave, taking liquid morphine to relieve constant physical pain - to add to the pain of losing her sister(s) - narrates in a rather dettached manner, admitting that she physically beat up her sister but could not tell why.

Thus, she leaves her biographer with some interpretative loose ends that the latter supposedly weaves together into THE THIRTEENTH TALE.

Exquisite cinematography by Jean-Philippe Gossart, fittingly restrained musical score, sharp yet touching screenplay by Diane Setterfield off the novel by Christopher Hampton.

Definite must-see. 8/10.

Based on a best-selling Gothic novel, THE THIRTEENTH TALE contains all the virtues characteristic of contemporary BBC drama; lavish locations with plenty of exterior shots, ornately decorated interior shots, 'mood' lighting designed to create a spooky atmosphere, and a cast of well- known actors given full opportunity to show off their creative talents. In this particular piece, aging novelist Viola Winter (Vanessa Redgrave) enlists the services of little-known writer Margaret Lea (Olivia Colman) to recount her autobiography, including her Viola's mysterious childhood when her family home (Anglefield House) burned to the ground. However Viola is herself a writer of fiction, so we never quite know whether what she recounts is 'the truth' or not (if the truth exists, of course). Christopher Hampton's screenplay allows for plenty of exchanges between the protagonists, as well as creating a 'hall-of- mirrors' like effect in which nothing is what it seems to be. However the narrative of THE THIRTEENTH TALE does tend to sag; like many BBC dramas, the director James Kent seems too much concerned to create atmosphere through music and location shooting (both interior and exterior), both of which tend to impede the progress of the plot. The denouement, when it comes, is both predictable and un-scary. One is left with the feeling that the story could have been far more effectively recounted in a sixty-minute slot.

This is really one of my favorites I've seen throughout the year of 2013.

Cinematography 8/10: The cinematography is beautiful. Most of the shots and standpoints in this film were well done.

Characters 7/10: Throughout this film, the characters were well- developed, but not every character was interesting and had no real background.

Plot 9/10: This movie had a very good plot, there wasn't any plot holes from my perspective and it was an intriguing ride.

Cast 8/10: The cast was well-chosen and all had a very good performance. I've always been a fan of Vanessa Redgrave and this performance of hers as Vida Winter was incredibly well done.

Conclusion: This movie is great and I give it an 8.25/10.