Vivienne Powell is extraordinarily powerful on film. She doesn’t portray the types of characters infused with such strength that they can handle anything life throws at them, and that’s precisely what makes her work so transfixing. The truth of the human experience is that we all face adversity which seeks to overwhelm us, often bending us to places we’d rather not go; Vivienne Powell takes us to visit these places with an authenticity that is complex and rare.
Known for her magnificent singing voice (featured in different films and in different languages), this actress has mastered the ability to be simultaneously unpredictable and instantly memorable. Many recognize Powell from her work in the Judd Apatow produced Netflix series Love or as the outrageously seductive Lilian Fleet in Primetime Emmy Award-Winning Showtime series Shameless but exploring other work of this amazing talent reveals her to be one of the most gifted actresses in the industry.
As Madame B in Leila Murton Poole’s Le Miroir, Vivienne transforms herself into a Hungarian born widow living in France. The counter weight to her young mute French housekeeper and ward Mathilde, Madame B has experienced the kind of loss and pain that can transform one into a deeply concerned and paranoid person, which it has. Madame B’s intentions are good though, she seeks to avoid undue misfortune for herself and others. This role in the hands of another might have been off-putting but Vivienne emanates a sense of genuine concern for those around her, a type of benevolent strictness.
The colors with which Ms. Powell has chosen to shape Madame B envelop the audience and Mathilde to establish layers that are enticing. Adding immensely to this aspect is Madame B’s enchanting voice which comes of course via Powell herself. She notes, “I have sung as a character twice now on film, in two beautiful films which have been very successful in picking up awards on the international film festival circuit – ‘Song From A Blackbird’ and ‘Le Miroir’.
Both films have a sense of magic surrealism about them. In ‘Song From a Blackbird’, written and directed by Enrique Pedraza Botero, which premiered in Cannes in 2014, I sang in Spanish as the Cuban singer, an imaginary figure appearing in the street before my character Carla and her son, Franz, encouraging them to move forward in their lives with forgiveness and hope, and expressing the beauty of art, of song, and the fullness of life. For Carla, the Cuban singer is also calling her back to her art as a singer, the part of her that she has abandoned.
It is interesting that both of these characters, Carla and Madame B, have forsaken their singing selves, and both experience a calling forth to let their artistic voices be expressed and heard once again. The Cuban singer in ‘Song From A Blackbird’ is a herald, a proclaimer. She provides a rallying call to leave the pain of the past behind and rise up, with hope, to better days ahead. She is there to inspire the characters and expresses the major themes of the film.”
A far different role but equally as moving is that of Bridget Walker which Ms. Powell presented in Bridget and lain. Leah Patterson, director of Bridget and Iain states, “I worked with Vivienne on the award-winning dramatic play ‘Bridget and Iain’ by New Zealand writer Norelle Scott. Vivienne brought a deep dedication, thorough preparation and great creativity to her creation of Bridget. Because of her shining light in combination with Damian Sommerlad, the play won the People’s Choice award for the 62 play festival of Short+Sweet’s North American debut in Los Angeles.”
There was no question that Vivienne would inhabit Bridget in the film presentation of this production. The story of a woman whose husband left her to raise their young son who later in life became a hopelessly addicted drug user, Bridget and lain is a familiar scenario in society but a story which is told here in an uncommon manner. The only way to communicate the pain of such a family dynamic is to bring the audience into the intimate space that mother and son share.
Ms. Powell’s performance is deeply moving and elicits the type of pain most often designated to a person’s own secret places of the heart. In the first moment of the film we see a young woman full of hope with her baby son next to her. The degradation of an adult lain has eroded that hopefulness from Bridget in present day but she still remains committed to loving and saving her son, while his father has long ago disappeared. Vivienne is aware of the connection she creates through such powerful films and relates, “The message of the film and the experiences of the characters in ‘Bridget and Iain’ are universal.
It is indeed very fulfilling and a real privilege, to have so many people touched in such deep and profound ways, by a great artwork that I have been blessed to be a part of. It brought home to us, more than ever, of the power of art to touch people and communicate. The power of storytelling is to let us know that we are not alone. I am privileged to tell Bridget’s story. She is a brave and compassionate woman, and I am honored to have been able to bring her to the screen, to people around the world.”
Writer: Coleman Haan