48-year-old Kate Winslet transformed into an Eastern European dictator (VIDEO)

The mini-series “Regime” is coming to an end on the HBO streaming platform. Kate Winslet played the main role in the political satire. The project from Descendants screenwriter and producer Will Tracy tells regarding the life of an authoritarian ruler. Forbes Woman looks at how a series regarding a woman in power asks uncomfortable questions and gives stereotypical answers to them

An unnamed European country is ruled by Chancellor Elena Wernham (Kate Winslet). She came to power following the death of her dictator father, whose body had not yet been buried. Elena lives in a huge, pompous palace, where she also holds meetings with ministers. She views politics solely as a tool for satisfying personal needs and enriching elites loyal to her. Elena’s work routine consists of addressing people on television, meeting with ministers and delegates from friendly countries, attending public events like the sugar beet festival and banquets with officials.

She doesn’t even think regarding the well-being of citizens, but she manically monitors her health and forces her subordinates to endlessly clean the palace, and everyone who happens to be near her to suck mint candies. When a new humidity-measuring assistant, Corporal Herbert Zubak (Matthias Schoenaerts), appears at the palace, having recently suppressed a miner’s strike, the Chancellor intends to use his new subordinate for personal gain, but the former military man pursues his own goals.

Directors Stephen Frears (The Queen, Dangerous Liaisons) and Jessica Hobbs (The Crown, Murder on the Beach) worked on the HBO political satire Regime. One of the screenwriters of the absurdist project regarding the illusory nature of absolute power was the well-known Will Tracy, who worked on “The Descendants.” The master of philippics regarding the rich and unscrupulous (a recent example is “Menu”) shared producing duties with Kate Winslet.

According to Winslet, her character is “fearless, but at the same time terribly afraid of this world.” In creating the image of a suspicious authoritarian leader, Will Tracy studied the stories of dictators in Central and Eastern Europe and the Middle East. For Elena, he borrowed from them a preoccupation with himself, an obsession with health, a complete detachment from reality and a desperate need to maintain power.

A woman in power today is both a symbol of a changing world and still an exception to the rule. Currently, only 29 of the world’s 195 countries are led by women. Given the obvious gender inequality in real life, it is not surprising that every such on-screen heroine becomes an event. Last year this was expected from the drama “Golda. Judgment Day”. But, unfortunately, the biopic regarding the first and only woman (Prime Minister of Israel) turned out to be formulaic and did not reveal the phenomenon of this political figure. After the unsuccessful “Gold” and the chaotic conclusion of the series “The Crown” regarding the life and reign of Elizabeth II, the satirical “Regime” seemed like a breath of fresh air. The grotesque mini-series from the screenwriter of “The Descendants” was expected, among other things, because of its unusual look at “female leadership.”