“It’s a miracle this film got made”: the long road to Helena Bonham Carter’s greatest triumph
If you ask 50 different people what their favourite Helena Bonham Carter movie is, there’s a strong chance you might get 50 different answers.
For decades now, the eccentric star has fostered a habit of cropping up in great films of all shapes and sizes. From her turn in the Harry Potter franchise to her collaborations with ex-partner Tim Burton to her various other weird and wonderful pursuits, she has done incredibly well for herself.
One entry in her filmography that often finds itself overlooked is 2017’s 55 Steps. Alternatively known as Eleanor & Colette in certain territories, this film from multiple-time Palme d’Or winner Bille August tells the story of an American woman named Eleanor Riese, played by Bonham Carter.
Diagnosed with schizophrenia at a young age, Riese fought back against laws requiring patients with mental illness to take medication, teaming up with lawyer Colette Hughes, played by Hilary Swank, to change the law and ensure that future patients have greater control over what goes into their bodies.
The film was an incredibly personal one for the English star, who has a history of mental health issues. “My periods of depression usually relate to the end of things,” she told The Guardian, “I’ve had times when my mind is not helping me”. Riese specifically suffered from a form of OCD, which Bonham Carter said she doesn’t have, before correcting herself, saying, “Actually, when I was little, I did. I used to jump up and down three times. This was just before I did the 11-plus. I thought if I didn’t do it, I wouldn’t get in. It obviously worked.”
Perhaps this is why she fought so hard for 55 Steps. Despite featuring an all-star cast, with even Jeffrey Tambor making an appearance, interest in the film was incredibly low. The process took so long that Bonham Carter had originally signed on to play Colette, but was too old by the time production actually started.
“It’s a miracle this film got made,” she reiterated, “It’s fallen apart so many times. It was like I was carrying the baton for Eleanor. The main thing she wanted was to be heard”.
Given her personal connection to the story, wherein her father was also left damaged by medical malpractice, and the nature of Riese’s battle, you can understand why Bonham Carter put so much time and effort into making this happen. Riese spent decades fighting for justice, with the lawsuit itself lasting for over two years. It was hoped that this film would shine a spotlight on her courageous battle in a similar fashion to Erin Brockovich, but alas, it wasn’t to be.
55 Steps received only a limited theatrical release before ending up on digital storefronts. Critics weren’t particularly kind to it either, with the film currently sitting on just 50% on Rotten Tomatoes. None of this will matter to Bonham Carter, though. She refused to let Riese’s story remain untold and fought for years to get it out into the wider world, even if the reception to it wasn’t what she would have wanted.
