It’s the spookiest time of the year. But that doesn’t mean every movie has to be about horror. Some can be about something even more sinister: Murder or, you know, the perfect crime! Deco’s solving a movie mystery with Helen Mirren and the cast of “A Talent for Murder.”
If the pen is mightier than the sword, then Helen Mirren is deadly in “A Talent for Murder.”
The legendary actress is dressing the part, playing a fictionalized version of crime author Patricia Highsmith, and she tells Deco clothes were the key to unlocking the mystery of who she was.
Helen Mirren: “Patricia Highsmith wore very masculine; she literally wore men’s shirts and men’s trousers. And there was no attempt at any kind of femininity whatsoever.”
Which was kind of a challenge for the dame, because…
Helen Mirren: “I’m quite a feminine sort of woman in my own world. I love a corset and makeup and flair, and I love high heels. I love all of that.”
She says the only way to get it right was to…
Helen Mirren: “Let go of my vanity and let her rip kind of thing.”
Alden Ehrenreich plays the cat-and-mouse game with Helen. He portrays a junior editor sent by her publisher to persuade her to write another Tom Ripley novel. Yes, that Mr. Ripley.
So how good are you at convincing someone to do something?
Helen Mirren: “I’m a hopeless negotiator.”
Alden Ehrenreich: “Are you?
Helen Mirren: “Oh, hopeless. No, I just say yes to everything.”
Alden Ehrenreich: “I’m pretty good, I think.”
Helen Mirren: “Oh, I bet you are.”
Alden Ehrenreich: “I do think that.”
Helen Mirren: “That’s why you run a theater.”
Alden Ehrenreich: “It’s one thing I really enjoy. Like I think I would have enjoyed being a lawyer in that sense.”
A Talent For Murder is in theaters now!
It’s a busy month for Dame Helen. She’s also starring in the second season of “Mobland,” which drops a new episode weekly on Paramount+.
