Fiona's Story
Gina McKee plays Fiona Mortimer
In Fiona's Story, produced by ´óÏó´«Ã½ Scotland, viewers witness the breakdown of the marriage between Fiona and Simon from Fiona's point of view.
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Viewers watch through her eyes as she struggles to hold her family together after her husband (played by Jeremy Northam) is accused of downloading indecent images of children from the internet.
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Fiona is the prism through which all the events over the course of a year are viewed.
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It's a challenging role, but Gina McKee brings a sensitivity to the piece.
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The actress, who has shone in numerous dramas since bursting onto our screens and winning the Best Actress Bafta Award for Our Friends in the North 12 years ago, says that she was instantly drawn to newcomer Kate Gabriel's screenplay.
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"It's such a powerful script. I read it late at night after performing in a play earlier in the evening, and it had a profound effect on me.
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"I particularly like the fact that it approaches this difficult subject from a secondary perspective. It's not about someone viewing images of child abuse, but the fallout from that.
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"The whole story is told from Fiona's point of view. It focuses on her and her concerns and fears for her family. It's not in the least bit gratuitous. It's a very intelligent, well-researched piece."
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The actress, who has also starred in The Street, Atonement, Tsunami – The Aftermath, The Forsyte Saga, The Lost Prince, Notting Hill and Croupier, thinks that Fiona's Story works so well because it is not waving a banner or sermonising in any way.
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"Even though it covers this very sensitive subject, it never feels preachy," Gina comments.
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"It avoids that by telling the story through the characters. Hopefully the viewers will engage with these people. We've got three staggeringly good girls playing our daughters – their life force is amazing."
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Fiona's Story begins with a shock, as Gina points out: "The starting point is that early one morning, Simon is arrested as part of an investigation into people downloading images of child abuse.
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"At first, Simon tells Fiona that it is a mistake and that someone has stolen his credit card and has been using it to commit this crime. But he eventually confesses that he's actually been looking at this material for five years.
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"To make matters worse, he won't talk to Fiona about it. That's another form of torment for her. Has he just been looking at these images or has he acted on these impulses?
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"Her responsibility as a parent then becomes huge. Her struggle is about trying to do the right thing.
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"She is trying to handle the situation without the children finding out what's going on. The repercussions are enormous."
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Gina continues: "The drama does not show any images, of course, it's not in any way sensationalist.
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"She is devastated when she realises that the father of her children and the man she's loved has been involved in this. Simon is a person she thought she knew inside out, but she didn't know this part of him existed."
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The revelation has a seismic effect on Fiona.
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"She goes through all sorts of emotions," Gina says. "There are worries and there is guilt. Fiona feels stupid that she hadn't spotted any clues.
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"She has been so immersed in bringing up the children, she is concerned that she may have missed things which Simon was doing.
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"In that situation, you would question every single thing about your relationship, every conversation that was ambiguous, every unexplained rebuff, every time he closed the door and went 'to work' in his office.
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"She realises that he must have been looking at these images since before their youngest child was born.
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"It's extraordinary and bewildering for her to think that in her home Simon has been doing this, and for so long."
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Fiona initially resolves to stay with Simon in the family home, as Gina explains: "Her primary responsibility is to her children. She's not in control of this situation, but she above all has to make sure her children are safe.
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"That's an enormous thing to have to cope with and, every time she thinks of what might happen to them, it's like poison entering her mind.
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"She also has to keep thinking: 'If Simon is charged and sentenced, how on Earth will that affect our children?'"
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Gina adds: "Fiona has to be very practical. She has to consider how the family would survive financially if Simon went to prison.
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"She's in a very difficult position because she's reliant on his income. She gave up her job when she had her first child – what kind of support would she get if she left him?
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"Her parents have passed away, and she can't just turn up and stay with a friend. Now she's a full-time mother and has to negotiate the children's schooling and how their peers and their parents will judge them.
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"She just has to keep functioning, for the children's sake.
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"If Simon and Fiona didn't have children it wouldn't be easy, but it would be much more straightforward.
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"But when three such young children are involved, she feels it's not the most sensible thing to leave – particularly when she doesn't know what the conclusion of the investigation will be.
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"Simon continues to get bail, leaving them in limbo, waiting to see if he'll be charged or released, so she's keen to preserve stability for her children for as long as she can."
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That's not to say that Fiona is not livid with her husband.
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Gina says: "There are times when she is just numb with shock and times when she is furious that Simon is in denial about his actions. For her, it's like confronting a wall of silence."
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The whole sorry business makes Fiona feel desperately alone.
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"At times, she is so lonely," Gina avers. "She has no professional or personal support. Simon insists that she tell no one – she can't even confide in her best friend.
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"He says: 'Do you want people making abusive phone calls and shouting at our children in the street and daubing things on our walls?'
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"Even though more information gradually comes in and her learning curve becomes steeper, Simon has still put her in this impossible position."
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What the drama highlights is the absolute seriousness of the offence Simon is accused of.
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"Simon is in denial about what he's done, but Fiona points out to him that these are not just images on a screen," asserts Gina.
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"They're hideously abusive. Simon is perpetuating it by paying for it. If no one was paying to watch it, the industry would shut down. This is not a crime without victims.
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"She despises Simon with the purest form of anger when she learns the exact details of these images."
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Gina, who has worked with many leading filmmakers over the years, pays tribute to Adrian Shergold, who directs Fiona's Story with rare skill and sensitivity.
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"Adrian creates a very good atmosphere on set and trusts his team to do their job. That seems a very simple thing, but it's rare and it's a huge gift. He gives you an awful lot of creative freedom.
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"He used to be an actor, which helps a great deal. He understands some of the curious vulnerabilities that actors feel. His instinct is spot on – he's supreme!"
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The actress, who is about to star opposite Kenneth Branagh in the London West End production of Ivanov at the Wyndhams Theatre, has just come from working with another acclaimed director.
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Earlier this summer, Gina played a civil servant in In The Loop, a semi-improvised, satirical movie from Armando Iannucci, the Scottish comedy maestro behind ´óÏó´«Ã½ Four's award-winning sitcom, The Thick of It.
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Gina finishes by by underlining the sheer emotional power of Fiona's Story. She has no doubt that it will make an immense impact on audiences.
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"This film tackles a subject that we really need to be aware of. It would be awful to think that we couldn't face this issue and couldn't try to deal with it.
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"At its best, drama can raise debate, and I hope Fiona's Story will do just that."
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