Fiona's Story
Jeremy Northam plays Simon Mortimer
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Jeremy Northam was gripped by Fiona's Story from the moment he read Kate Gabriel's script.
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"It's a riveting drama," enthuses the actor, who plays Simon, whose life and marriage to Fiona (Gina McKee) are plunged into crisis when he is accused of looking at indecent images of children on the internet.
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"I think people will be absorbed by it. It should make everyone think: 'What would I do in that situation?'"
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What Jeremy found most intriguing about Kate's screenplay was that it is non-judgemental. He believes that in its coverage of a relationship under extreme duress, Fiona's Story also possesses a universal resonance.
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"What's fascinating is that the writer doesn't take obvious sides," reflects Jeremy, who has starred in such movies as Gosford Park, Emma, Enigma, Possession, A Cock And Bull Story, The Golden Bowl, The Winslow Boy and An Ideal Husband.
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"My hope is that the film will be as much about the dissolution of the family as about people's reactions to what Simon may or may not have done.
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"One can broaden the base of this film and find echoes in many relationships. We all know people whose relationships are under stress, don't we?"
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Having said all that, Jeremy would be the first to admit that Simon, a man alleged to have committed the most heinous crimes, was a very hard role to play.
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"When they heard I was taking this part, some people went: 'Oooh'. I knew I had to treat it with caution and, at first, I found it tricky. You have to deal with what people think.
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"It can be odd playing characters who are not liked. You step away and feel this weird vibe. It's not really surprising. However much you go: 'Cut, let's have coffee,' it still feels a bit grimy."
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However, Jeremy says: "I soon realised that you have to take yourself out of the equation. That's easier said than done, but I was determined not to make Simon a cartoon baddie. I couldn't cackle and say: 'Look at me, I'm a villain'.
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"I have to believe he believes what he's saying. It's strange, because you find yourself arguing things you'd never argue in your own life," says the actor, who delivered a memorable performance as Sir Thomas More in 91Èȱ¬ Two's The Tudors.
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"Some actors say you have to love the character you're playing but I'm not sure that's always true, because some characters plainly don't love themselves very much.
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"You can feed off that in your performance. There are definitely elements of that in Simon, although he doesn't acknowledge them.
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"He does not admit to himself what is fundamentally wrong in his emotional life."
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Simon is certainly an elusive figure. Jeremy says it is part of the strength of Kate's writing that his character is a hard man to pin down.
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"He's ambiguous," says Jeremy, who won the 2000 Evening Standard Best Actor Award for The Winslow Boy and An Ideal Husband.
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"At every turn, you're not quite certain where he stands. When he cries, for example, is he manipulating other people's feelings or is he genuinely upset?
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"He has the unreliable traits of many people caught in the act. It's not difficult to imagine people like that spinning the truth to protect themselves."
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Simon is equally evasive once his alleged misdemeanours have been exposed.
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"He has no compunction about shovelling his grief into Fiona's lap," observes Jeremy.
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"It's almost as if the couple get into a state of competitive pain. One says: 'I'm unhappy,' and the other replies: 'I am, too.'
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"Imagining the history between Simon and Fiona, you can't help thinking: 'Has this sort of friction happened in the past?'
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"The catalyst of Simon's arrest reveals the already doomed nature of their relationship. That fragility goes way back. Fiona has even been contemplating an affair. It's not an uncommon phenomenon.
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"It's easy to imagine that that are millions of people stuck in unhappy relationships who are unable to get out of them. The script paints a powerful picture of a woman trapped by her relationship."
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Jeremy thinks that depicting a woman marooned in a loveless marriage, "is a very brave move on Kate's part. So many dramas show the heroine triumphing over her misery and escaping.
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"But that implies to people stuck in failed relationships that they are somehow weak. That's so untrue and unfair."
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The actor goes on to consider why Fiona just does not walk out on Simon when he is first arrested.
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"Part of me did wonder why she doesn't just leave – then I realised that if she did, we wouldn't have a film," he jokes.
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"I think Fiona is extremely kind and long-suffering towards Simon. Her choices are limited by her responsibilities as a mother, but her patience is still remarkable.
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"I think if I had to deal with something of that magnitude, how on Earth would I get through the day? Fiona copes with extraordinary grace.
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"She's slightly compromised because before all this blew up, she was toying with the idea of an affair.
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"That's an interesting aspect to this story because she has created these contrary flows which are now holding them together in this strange state."
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So, how has the relationship between Simon and Fiona evolved over the years?
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"I think she did love him once," speculates Jeremy. "But there is a bit of a gap between their second and third child.
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"Perhaps they were trying to maintain their sex life with two small kids – which is famously difficult – and the third child may have been an accident.
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"When she arrived, she might have caused problems between the parents. She might have been clingy and Simon might have been banished to the spare room.
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"That may be the background to their relationship although, of course, it doesn't begin to explain what he does next."
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The actor, who once headlined as a computer wizard opposite Sandra Bullock in The Net but, ironically, does not possess a computer, will soon be seen alongside Sam Neill and Peter O'Toole in Dean Spanley, a movie adaptation of the surreal book by Lord Dunsany about reincarnation.
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"It's not so much about reincarnation as a father-son relationship," Jeremy explains. "I play the son and Peter O'Toole plays my father."
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Cambridge-born Jeremy is an actor who puts a great deal of thought into his responses. But, although he has an engaging presence, Jeremy admits he shies away from attention.
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"Publicity gives you a very odd picture of yourself," he says, wryly.
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"According to one website, I'm related to an American evangelist called Chuck Northam – it's on the internet, so it must be true!
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"Another time, I did an interview in Saffron Burrows's trailer and she had a BackStreet Boys album on the table. The journalist wrote: 'Jeremy Northam likes the Back Street Boys.' I was offended because no one had bothered to ask me.
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"Friends tell me I should just make up a persona – maybe I should! Nick Nolte invented this story about his private parts and it now appears in every single interview."
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Jeremy has made a name for himself in Hollywood and, in his time, has starred opposite such big names as Nicole Kidman (The Invasion), Anthony Hopkins (Amistad), Gwyneth Paltrow (Emma and Possession), Mel Gibson (The Singing Detective), Kate Winslet (Enigma) and Michael Caine (The Statement).
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But he was drawn to the British-made Fiona's Story because he feels very passionate about this film.
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The actor closes by expressing the hope that the drama might help shed some light on a highly charged issue.
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"I'm not an apologist for criminals, far from it, but I do believe you're innocent till proved guilty.
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"Sometimes society's reaction to crimes is not commensurate with the original offence.
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"Does that help solve the problem? This is a hugely difficult area, but I do hope our film will, in some small way, help to increase our understanding of it."
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