The movie Tilda Swinton hated at first sight: “It took me a long time to appreciate it”
When Tilda Swinton finds a filmmaker she likes, she sticks with them, and her early forays into acting saw her continuously collaborate with the likes of Joanna Hogg and Derek Jarman, and decades later, she still works with Hogg, and the same would surely be said if Jarman were still with us.
These collaborations with like-minded artists helped her to find her place as an actor and a creative, clearly loving the kinds of films that challenged her to explore avenues she wouldn’t have otherwise, and at least at the start of her career, she wasn’t bothered about appearing in anything remotely mainstream, revealing a taste for experimentation that culminated in an early leading role that would help to put her on the map.
In 1992, she teamed up with Sally Potter for an adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s Orlando, which, when you read it, feels like a rather unadaptable novel, and with it jumping across centuries, countries, and even genders, the film required a versatile and androgynous star who wasn’t afraid to step into a difficult role, which Swinton was perfect for.
Potter had been working on the film for years, first pitching a treatment all the way back in 1984, but the filmmaker hadn’t been able to get the project off the ground, though, so it lay dormant for several years until she started writing the screenplay several years later.
Eventually, with Swinton catching her eye as the perfect person to play Orlando, Potter knew she had to get the film made. It would be five years until the pair were able to actually bring the film to life, but when the movie was finally done after years of dedication, Swinton couldn’t help but feel a little let down.
It’s not that she thought they’d produced a terrible film, but rather, it just didn’t live up to the expectations that the actor had in mind. “Because it was like a trailer for my fantasies. You work on something for five years, you fantasise it will be five hours long and occupy all your wildest dreams,” Swinton told Variety.
After all that hard work, the movie just flew by, and just like that, all their hard work was over. She wasn’t sure if it was all quite worth it. “Then it goes by in 90 minutes. I love the film now, but it took me a long time to appreciate it,” she admitted.
Orlando was well received, with the film garnering two Oscar nominations in the form of ‘Best Art Direction’ and ‘Best Costume Design’, while critics were quick to praise this bold approach to telling such a challenging story. Unsurprisingly, Swinton is great in the part of Orlando, a nobleman who is bequeathed a large inheritance and land from Queen Elizabeth I.
When Orlando wakes up and finds that they’re now a woman, the question of whether she is still able to inherit these goods causes difficulty, as do relationships and the changing of centuries. Orlando must navigate the fluidity of time, of identity, and societal expectation, and Swinton brings the necessary depth to the part.
Still, Swinton has never worked with Potter since, so it makes you wonder whether she was hesitant following her initial reaction to Orlando. At least she can appreciate the film now, though, because it’s truly one of a kind.
