Olivia Colman has a filmography like no one else, and the actress is always able to steal the show, whether it’s in The Crown or Broadchurch.
However, like many stars, Olivia also has some hidden gems in her filmography, and one of those is The Thirteenth Tale, which originally aired on the BBC back in 2013.
The Gothic thriller was based on the book of the same name by Diane Setterfield and saw Olivia’s character, Margaret Lea, travel to meet reclusive writer, Vida Winter (Vanessa Redgrave) in order to write her biography.
Vida has previously misled previous biographers, but as she speaks to Margaret, she begins to reveal horrific family secrets.
While the film is no longer available on the BBC, fans can now stream it on Prime Video, and a synopsis of the film reads: “Follows aging novelist Vida Winter, who enlists a young writer to finally tell the story of her life including her mysterious childhood spent in Angelfield House, which burned to the ground when she was a teenager.”
Who stars in The Thirteenth Tale?
As we’ve said, Olivia Colman (Paddington in Peru) and Dame Vanessa Redgrave (Julia) lead the film. Madeleine Power (Douglas Is Cancelled), Sophie Turner (Game of Thrones) and Antonia Clarke (The Serpent Queen) also feature as younger versions of Vida and her identical twin sister, Emmeline.
Also starring in the thriller are Alexandra Roach (Killing Eve), Janet Amsden (EastEnders), Robert Pugh (The Tuckers), Emily Beecham (Into the Badlands), Michael Jibson (Star Wars: The Last Jedi), Tom Goodman-Hill (Baby Reindeer), Lizzie Hopley (The Devil’s Hour), Steven Mackintosh (Luther) and Adam Long (Happy Valley).
What did fans make of The Thirteenth Tale?
Plenty of viewers enjoyed the creepy drama, as one penned: “This BBC psychological thriller drew on most of the established ‘givens’ in what appeared to be a classic ghost story, with a big creepy house, a troubled governess, mysterious deaths, brooding Yorkshire moors, emotionally disturbed children and of course sightings of a ghostly lady in white. In fact, the twist is that it manages to subvert all these clichés and still produce a gripping story which holds the viewer until the end.”
A second added: “This is really one of my favourites I’ve seen throughout the year of 2013,” and a third commented: “The film is well acted, and the story gradually draws you in and surprises you as it does not go the way you think it will. Of course, I have never read the book, so no comparison is made with the novel. It’s a drama that stands in its own merits.”
© BBCA fourth noted: “This film is pure Gothic. I feel alarmed, I feel shaky. This film will live with me for a while yet.”
Meanwhile, writing in The Guardian, Lucy Mangan said: “All the ingredients of the potboiler plot bubbled away nicely for 90 minutes and served up a richly, deliciously satisfying stew.”
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