Allen’s Another Woman, for example — rest on the character’s repressed emotional state. In this field. Holm is the equal of Anthony Hopkins, but without the Welshman’s austerity. These acting skills are perfectly suited to the part of Mitchell Stevens in The Sweet Hereafter.
‘The nature of the character is that he’s an outsider,’ Holm explains. ‘He is a man who has, God knows, his own problems with a drug-addicted daughter and so on. He’s a manipulator as well, not necessarily a good man by any means. He llings himself into his out-of—town work, as far away as possible, so he can disarm his own conscience.’
Despite being in no less than five films released in I997 (Big Night and The Fifth Element complete the tally), Holm insists his career is no more secure than it ever was. ‘Why is it that I’m getting offered all this stuff now‘?’ he asks. ‘I don’t know. lt’sjust the way it goes. After Chariots Of Fire, I didn’t work for nearly a year. But here l am at 65, and I’ve only just played my first leading role in a film.’
That pensionable age has other advantages, it seems. ‘I hadn’t seen The Fifth Element,’ he says of his turn as a bumbling priest who holds the key to saving the world, ‘so I went along to Kensington Odeon and asked if they did any concessions for OAPs. They didn’t. So I said. “What about a concession if you’re in the film?” The guy laughed. but I persisted and he phoned the manager with my name. And then said “Ah. right. Sorry. No problem.” So that’s how I got to see The Fifth Element. With eight other people. Two of whom walked out.’
Well, if you’ve got to witness one of your not-so-successful performances, best to avoid paying full price. eh‘.’
The Sweet Hereafter opens at the Glasgow Film Theatre and Edinburgh Filmhouse on Fri 26 Sep. See review. page 29.
Community drama: Sarah Polley and Ian Holm in The Sweet Hereafter
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