James Kent, with his many directorial credits in TV films and series, scored well with The Thirteenth Tale that was aired on BBC in 2013. An adaptation of Diane Setterfield’s 2006 gothic suspense novel of the same name, the movie offers an intriguing premise with a haunting feel and layers of mystery unfolding through the plot.
The story starts with a biographer Margaret Lea (Olivia Colman) who moves to the rather isolated country residence of famous writer Vida Winter (Vanessa Redgrave), who has hired her to write her biography. Vida tells Lea her real name – Adeline March – and narrates how she grew up fatherless with her twin sister Emmeline at their family estate of Angelfield. With mysterious and tragic things happening in Vida’s account of her life, Lea starts discovering strange things around the estate as well as within the dying writer’s life story that hides some painful secrets.
The Thirteenth Tale is a mystery that captures and keeps the viewer’s attention. However, the movie has a few notable weaknesses in plot and other details. Most conspicuous of these is the underdeveloped connection to the written work, the book “Thirteen Tales of Change and Desperation,” by Vida. We don’t get to see or hear much of what actually is in the book with which the story begins. Lea’s own backstory of growing with a twin gets a flimsy treatment with a few flashbacks and hardly a minute of revelation to the audience. There is no mention of why the police ignored or didn’t find the bones of one of the sisters in the fire. The disappearance of Vida’s housekeeper and other minor details count less, but they exist.
Despite its shortcomings, Kent’s The Thirteenth Tale offers enough to keep one entertained and curious to learn more. Though having a female lead of characters and more of a feminine energy to the setting, the movie can easily attract mystery lovers for 90 minutes of their time.
Note: This reviewer has not read Diane Setterfield’s novel, which is the basis for this movie; hence no assessment of the movie in context of the book.
